Text

theses

The purpose of this research is threefold: to theorize the political viability of the public housing development as a political opportunity structure; to understand the creation, marginalization, and demolition of this political opportunity structure in Atlanta; and to explicate the movements from within the public housing development that translated to a more empowered residential base, and more livable communities in Atlanta, GA between the 1936 and 1975. The literature on the positive productive functions of public housing is interspersed within the literature on the politics of public housing policies (at the national level), the politics of public housing developments (at the local level), the production of a racial geography in the City of Atlanta, and the productive functions of welfare institutions (including, but not limited to, public housing developments). Further, this project attempts to understand empirical benefits of political opportunity structures, particularly as it relates to low-income and minority housing movements in the city of Atlanta. Theoretically, political opportunity structures provide a neutral platform for low-income city dwellers that have historically been denied the legal means to challenge neighborhood change, and participate in formal urban political processes and institutions. In fact, low-income groups have routinely been uprooted from their neighborhoods, contained to specific areas of the city, while those of greater means invoke a litany of legal obstructions (from restrictive covenants to lot size requirements) to prevent the free movement of low-income residents. Thus, political opportunity structures that are permanently housed in low-income and minority neighborhoods are the theoretical response to the disparities in political opportunity and collective efficacy between socioeconomic groups in the city. Using the case study examples of University Homes, Perry Homes, and Grady Homes, this dissertation examines the uses of public housing developments in Atlanta as political opportunity structures for low-income and working-class African-Americans from 1936 to 1975. The research uses a historical methodology of data collection to create a grounded theory of racial politics in the city, as well as to analyze the production of equitable outcomes and processes in the urban planning process through public housing developments.

ETD_5486

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Akira Drake

doi:10.7282/T337771F

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.