Fringe Cities and Urban Renewal

Aerial view of downtown Montgomery Alabama

 

This project builds on the Fringe Cities exhibition by MASS Design Group at the Center for Architecture in New York City in the Fall and Winter of 2019-20, which is now being turned into a book. The exhibition focused on four small-size cities with 1960 populations between 15,000 and 150,000 — Poughkeepsie, NY; Easton, PA; Saginaw, MI; and Spartanburg, SC — that underwent a variety of urban renewal strategies in the mid-20th century and have suffered population loss and economic decline in the years since. This project aims to investigate six additional cities that also underwent some urban renewal but have experienced economic growth since then. The goal is to better understand the factors responsible for urban renewal’s social, economic, and spatial impacts on a city and to help chart a path forward for small cities in the 21st century.

 

Overview of Research and Green Bay Essay 
By Becina Ganther 

     In 2019, the architectural design firm MASS Design Group curated Fringe Cities, a museum exhibit which explored the legacies of mid-century urban renewal in four small American cities: Saginaw, MI; Poughkeepsie, NY; Spartanburg, SC; and Easton, PA. These four cities share a history of mid-century decline, efforts to revitalize through federally-funded urban renewal, and continued decline into the 21st century. To accompany the exhibit, MASS Design Group’s Michael Murphy, Morgan O’Hara, and Justin Brown are writing a book which delves deeper into these cities, presenting a richer understanding of the challenges these cities faced and their current states. While the book primarily focuses on how urban renewal ultimately failed to revitalize—and may have even accelerated the decline of—these cities, Professor Lizabeth Cohen was invited to write a prologue that offers a more nuanced perspective on the reasons behind urban renewal and how urban renewal can benefit small cities. 


     Professor Cohen enlisted my help in conducting research on cities to use as case studies in her prologue. After investigating a list of 200 small cities which received federal urban renewal dollars and experienced population growth between 1960 and 2010, we settled on five—Athens, GA; Augusta, GA; Green Bay, WI; Huntsville, AL; and Montgomery, AL—which we felt could be most instructive in exploring the factors that help small cities thrive. Through archival research and 13 interviews with local historians, professors, urban and economic planners, I determined that universities, government institutions, and tourism are key ingredients for post-industrial cities to stay relevant in the 21st century. Moreover, in discussions with MASS Design Group and Professor Cohen, we realized that the relationship between Green Bay and its local NFL team, the Packers, provides a particularly informative example of the importance of public and private investment in helping small cities thrive and decided to include it in the book beyond the prologue. I received additional funding to travel to Green Bay to get an in-person perspective on the city and take photos of key buildings and places. The essay included here is a draft of the book section that will focus on Green Bay.  


     I would like to thank Professor Cohen for mentoring me in this project; I could not have done this without her support with research, interviews, and writing. I would also like to thank Morgan O’Hara, Justin Brown, and Michael Murphy at MASS Design Group for starting this fascinating book and inspiring me with new ideas. Thank you to the folks at Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative, particularly Andrea Davies, for funding and supporting my research. Thank you to Mary Jane Herber at Brown County Library; Professors David Helpap, Ray Hutchison, Marcelo Cruz, John Katers, and Bob Howe at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; Brent Hensel, Clifford Christl, Katie Hermsen, and Aaron Popkey at the Green Bay Packers; Chloe Pahl at Titletown Tech; Kelly Armstrong and Josh Bernhardt at the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce; Mikaela LaFave and Ashley Shull at Athens-Clarke County Library; Steven Brown and Steven Armour at University of Georgia Libraries; Ilka McConnell at the Athens Chamber of Commerce; Joey Carter at the Linnentown Project; Charlene Marsh at the Athens-Clarke County Mayor’s Office; Professor Howard Robinson and Raegan Stearns at Alabama State University; and Ken Barr and Meredith McDonough at the Alabama Department of Archives and History for your expertise. Finally, thank you to my mom and my sister for driving to Green Bay with me, taking photos, helping with editing, and supporting me always. 

 

This project is being developed by Becina J. Ganther and Professor Lizabeth Cohen

 

Image: Aerial view of Montgomery, AL in 1970