ancient cities

the total number of displacees in the various areas
hit by Hurricane Katrina is estimated to be as high
as 1 million. The Asian tsunami of 2004 displaced
upwards of 5 million people.
Wars, too, can create widespread displacement,
reconfiguring the settlement patterns of entire
nations. United Nations estimates of the number
displaced by the Iraq War (2003–present) range as
high as 50,000 per month. World War II is estimated
to have displaced tens of millions of people.
Indeed, the boundaries of many central European
nations (e.g., Germany, Poland) were redrawn as a
result of the displacement of millions.
While natural disasters and wars offer the most
dramatic examples of displacement, many households
are displaced by the normal workings of
housing markets or government policy. Some
households have to move when the cost of their
current unit becomes unaffordable. Gentrification,
a process whereby relatively low-income neighborhoods
experience an influx of investment and
affluent households, has been thought to cause
widespread displacement. Recent research suggests,
however, that normal turnover rather than
displacement is responsible for much of the demographic
shift associated with it. Nonetheless, a
number of individuals are forced out of their
homes because of gentrification, even if the number
is not as high as previously thought.
Governments exercising the powers of eminent
domain have also contributed to displacement.
Although painful to displacees, a need exists for
public goods such as highways or military bases,
whose construction often requires displacement of
households. When the government is viewed as
abusing this power or defining the public good too
broadly, the resultant displacement can be controversial.
City residents opposed the urban renewal
program of the 1950s and 1960s, which provided
government funds to condemn properties and
assemble sites for redevelopment, when it caused
too much displacement, particularly among lowincome
Blacks, without producing substantial benefits.
The Kelo v. City of New London Supreme
Court decision of 2005 generated concern because
of the rather elastic way the Court interpreted
“public use.” The benefits stemming from economic
development were construed as a public use, as
opposed to narrower definitions that focus on specific
public facilities and uses like parks or roads.
Divided Cities
225
The impact of displacement on the lives of displacees
depends largely on postdisplacement conditions.
The more similar conditions are to what
life was like prior to displacement, the less traumatic
the experience will be. When one can relocate
nearby and maintain employment, routines,
and social networks, the experience is unlikely to
be disconcerting. At the other extreme, if an entire
community is uprooted and unable to reestablish
itself, the experience is likely to be traumatic. In
fact, research shows that displacees from gentrification
often achieve higher levels of residential
satisfaction. In contrast, refugees from war often
find it impossible to create any semblance of
normalcy.
Lance Freeman
See also Catastrophe; Gentrification; Housing Policy;
Neighborhood Revitalization; Rent Control
Further Readings
Freeman, Lance and Frank Braconi. 2004.
“Gentrification and Displacement in New York City.”
Journal of the American Planning Association
70(1):39–52.
Grier, G. and E. E. Grier. (1978). Urban Displacement: A
Reconnaissance. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
Schill, Michael H. and Richard P. Nathan. 1983.
Revitalizing America’s Cities: Neighborhood
Reinvestment and Displacement. Albany: State
University of New York Press.
DiviDeD cities
Divided cities are urban regions in which social,
political, or economic barriers have segregated the
residents, affected the distribution of infrastructure
and services, and generated parallel jurisdictions.
The globe is full of cities, big and small, that
were either divided but are now reunited or were
divided and remain so. As divided cities are not
uncommon, and the problems they have are manifold,
they are an important issue in urban studies.
There are several causes of divided cities. Most
often, divisions occur as a result of shifts in