CUMU Conference 2019

The purpose of this panel is to gather a diverse cross-section of university and community-based stakeholders engaged and/or impacted by the surging redevelopment in Milwaukee’s core to participate in a frank discussion of the city’s redevelopment efforts and gentrification. Additionally, we examine how (re)investment is being reimagined by non-profits, grassroots efforts, and university stakeholders. Specifically, the panel seeks to examine if community (re)development and (re)investment can be undertaken in such a way that historically marginalized populations do not undergo further marginalization, and if so, how?

Like many cities around the United States, Milwaukee is experiencing rapid redevelopment in its urban core. While such urban renewal is bringing resources to segments of the city that have suffered several generations of disinvestment, in many instances the long-standing residents of these areas, who are overwhelmingly African-American and Latinx are not reaping the benefits of this real estate development resurgence. To the contrary, significant portions of long-standing residents of color are witnessing the cultural fabric of their neighborhoods erode as developers cater to white middle-class taste and sensibilities. A demographic that often maintains little to no cultural and historical understanding of the neighborhoods they are helping to gentrify. Other long-standing residents of color are experiencing displacement as they find themselves priced out of their neighborhood due to the rising property taxes that typically accompany gentrification. Given gentrification’s global reach, the insights ascertained through this panel hold import well beyond Milwaukee’s city limits.