Urban Renewal in Hyde Park-Kenwood: Revisiting the Past or Living in It?

Urban renewal was a series of renovations in the 1950s and 60s seeking to reconstruct neighborhoods primarily on the South side of Chicago, often causing mass gentrification and segregation. While these projects and their consequences are thought of in the past tense, my research question seeks to explore the remnants of urban renewal in the Hyde Park-Kenwood project and their modern-day implications. I do so by examining archival material such as ads, reports and flyers distributed during the urban renewal period and interviewing current Hyde Park residents, both newcomers and old-timers. I found that many of the sentiments and construction that occurred during urban renewal are being built upon today (albeit in a more subtle way) by the same stakeholders, such as the University of Chicago. These findings can give insight into the incentives behind modern development in gentrified neighborhoods and may guide further research into how urban tools can be used to address such past movements.