Many threads connect a city, but in 1960s Newark, urban planners focused mainly on the city’s financial ties, arguing that a strong economy would expand the city’s employment options, tax base, and vital services. They regarded prestigious urban renewal projects like the Newark Plaza in the city’s Central Business District as serving the city by supporting upper income residents and business interests that would boost the economy. The relationship between CBD and city was, in their view, reciprocal, symbiotic, and therefore equal, as represented here by the threads running out from the Newark Plaza. In reality, though, the Newark Plaza distorted the relationship between city and CBD: while workers were drawn to work in the CBD from all over the city, that workspace was small and restricted, which pressed the city into service of an isolated elite. Rather than spread employment throughout the city, urban renewal funds were used to concentrate power in the hands of the business elite, creating distortions in commuting, food deserts, and gentrification for other residents. This distortion of scale and purpose is represented by the second set of threads, running from all across the city to a tiny spot at the heart of the CBD.

Mapmaker: Erin Bremner
Posted 5/2/2023