Episode 6: Urban Decay and The City of Homes The Alley Cast
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- History
In Episode 6 of The Alley Cast, we discuss housing in Philadelphia--how it changed in around the turn of the 20th century and how some parts of the city were neglected into such disrepair that a multitude of organizations were created to try to fix them. But we will also be exploring an idea that we touched on a little in episode 5 and which we will continue to engage with through the end of this season. That the ways in which city neighborhoods are labeled--as factory districts, or quote unquote “slums,” or even historic--are tied up in the priorities of those with power, privilege, and speculative financial investment in those neighborhoods. These labels often determine the options available to those without power and without privilege who live and work in these spaces. And sometimes the labels applied by city planners, reformers, investors, and preservationists can determine the future of a neighborhood--for good or bad, or simply for different--despite the wishes and actions of the people who live and work there.
In Episode 6 of The Alley Cast, we discuss housing in Philadelphia--how it changed in around the turn of the 20th century and how some parts of the city were neglected into such disrepair that a multitude of organizations were created to try to fix them. But we will also be exploring an idea that we touched on a little in episode 5 and which we will continue to engage with through the end of this season. That the ways in which city neighborhoods are labeled--as factory districts, or quote unquote “slums,” or even historic--are tied up in the priorities of those with power, privilege, and speculative financial investment in those neighborhoods. These labels often determine the options available to those without power and without privilege who live and work in these spaces. And sometimes the labels applied by city planners, reformers, investors, and preservationists can determine the future of a neighborhood--for good or bad, or simply for different--despite the wishes and actions of the people who live and work there.