Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 22 Issue 1

© 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue I Version I 9 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 C The Revanchist City: Downtown Chicago and the Rhetoric of Redevelopment in Bronzeville It is rose between 1970 and 1980 (62.7%) as a result of the urban renewal completed on the east side of Douglas between 26 th and 35 th Streets along Martin Luther King Drive. The percent change in median rent continued to climb and reached a high of just under 120% before falling to a percent change of less than 30% by 2000. In 1990 median home value data became available (see Figure 3 below). Source: U.S. Census Bureau Figure 3: Percent Change in Median Home Value and Rent in East Douglas 1990-2000 Between 1990 and 2000 the percent change in median home value was (81.1%) while median rent was (31.1%)—evidencing a rent gap as the percent change in the median value of homes in east Douglas was over half the percent change in median rent. iii. Douglas West The rent gaps in Douglas west are comparable to the overall area of Douglas. The percent change in median home value between 1960 and 1970 was (-5.8%) compared to the percent change in median rent (42.6%) (see figure 4). Source: U.S. Census Bureau Figure 4: Douglas West-side Percent Change in Median Rent 1960-2000 As with the overall data for the Douglas area of Bronzeville the percent change in median rent is flat or stagnate, rising modestly in comparison to the enormous percent change in median home value between 1980 and 1990 (431.6 %) compared to (96.5%) for percent change in median rent (see Figure 4). In fact, the percent change in median home value between 1980 and 1990 was over ten times the percent change in median home value between 1970 and 1980 (42.7%). As with the overall results for Douglas, the east and west side comparisons show that private developers, financial institutions, and real estate brokers made huge profits in the housing market of Douglas evidencing the intricate relationship between the devalorization process (disinvestment) and the rent gap (reinvestment). b) The Rent Gap in Bronzeville: Grand Boulevard The Grand Boulevard area of Bronzeville is located between 39 th Street and 51 st Street and bound by Cottage Grove, on the east, and Federal Boulevard, on the west (See Map 1). It was affected quite differently by the initial urban renewal process in Douglas. It did not receive any urban renewal resources for “mixed- income” development but instead became home to the largest concentration of public housing in Chicago and the United States. In Grand Boulevard alone, there are five public housing developments—Ida B. Wells Extension—Washington Park, Robert Taylor Homes (the largest); Darrow Homes, Calumet Homes, and the Prairie Court Homes. The Darrow and Calumet homes have been demolished, while only three buildings out of