Using Urban Renewal Records to Advance Reparative Justice

Abstract

By describing how the federal urban renewal program harmed displaced tenants and property owners, this article intends to encourage discussion of potential remedies by study groups, commissions, and community activists. In addition to loss of property, these harms include inadequate reimbursement payments, diminished business and rental income, and higher post-relocation housing costs. Using Kingston and Newburgh, New York, and Asheville, North Carolina, as case studies, the article demonstrates how researchers can document the need for reparative justice policies using historical data drawn from local archival collections.