Geographies of Race and Urban Space

Peter Nelson, Tamar Meyer Professor of Geography

Offered in conjunction with the exhibit, Michelangelo Lovelace: Art Saved My Life, this lecture investigates constructions of race, space, and place by drawing on both historical and contemporary examples. We begin with the creation of ‘Chinatowns’ in the late 19^th Century, and continue through the rise of Eugenics movement in the early 20^th Century, before arriving at more recent racialized practices surrounding policing and mortgage lending. Taken together, the cases highlight the ways notions of race have shaped material constructions of urban spaces, their lived experiences, and the lasting impacts on populations of color.