Root Shock examines 3 different U.S. cities to unmask the crippling
results of decades-old disinvestment in communities of color and the
urban renewal practices that ultimately destroyed these neighborhoods
for the advantage of developers and the elite.
Like a sequel to the prescient warnings of urbanist Jane Jacobs, Dr.
Mindy Thompson Fullilove reveals the disturbing effects of decades of
insensitive urban renewal projects on communities of color. For those
whose homes and neighborhoods were bulldozed, the urban modernization
projects that swept America starting in 1949 were nothing short of an
assault. Vibrant city blocks - places rich in culture - were torn apart
by freeways and other invasive development, devastating the lives of
poor residents. Fullilove passionately describes the profound traumatic
stress- the "root shock"that results when a neighborhood is demolished.
She estimates that federal and state urban renewal programs, spearheaded
by business and real estate interests, destroyed 1,600 African American
districts in cities across the United States. But urban renewal didn't
just disrupt black communities: it ruined their economic health and
social cohesion, stripping displaced residents of their sense of place
as well. It also left big gashes in the centers of cities that are only
now slowly being repaired. Focusing on the Hill District of Pittsburgh,
the Central Ward in Newark, and the small Virginia city of Roanoke, Dr.
Fullilove argues powerfully against policies of displacement.
Understanding the damage caused by root shock is crucial to coping with
its human toll and helping cities become whole. Mindy Thompson
Fullilove, MD, is a research psychiatrist at New York State Psychiatric
Institute and professor of clinical psychiatry and public health at
Columbia University. She is the author of five books, including Urban
Alchemy.
