La Calle

Spatial Conflicts and Urban Renewal in a Southwest City

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book La Calle by Lydia R. Otero, University of Arizona Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lydia R. Otero ISBN: 9780816534913
Publisher: University of Arizona Press Publication: October 1, 2016
Imprint: University of Arizona Press Language: English
Author: Lydia R. Otero
ISBN: 9780816534913
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Publication: October 1, 2016
Imprint: University of Arizona Press
Language: English

On March 1, 1966, the voters of Tucson approved the Pueblo Center Redevelopment Project—Arizona’s first major urban renewal project—which targeted the most densely populated eighty acres in the state. For close to one hundred years, tucsonenses had created their own spatial reality in the historical, predominantly Mexican American heart of the city, an area most called “la calle.” Here, amid small retail and service shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, they openly lived and celebrated their culture. To make way for the Pueblo Center’s new buildings, city officials proceeded to displace la calle’s residents and to demolish their ethnically diverse neighborhoods, which, contends Lydia Otero, challenged the spatial and cultural assumptions of postwar modernity, suburbia, and urban planning.

Otero examines conflicting claims to urban space, place, and history as advanced by two opposing historic preservationist groups: the La Placita Committee and the Tucson Heritage Foundation. She gives voice to those who lived in, experienced, or remembered this contested area, and analyzes the historical narratives promoted by Anglo American elites in the service of tourism and cultural dominance.

La Calle explores the forces behind the mass displacement: an unrelenting desire for order, a local economy increasingly dependent on tourism, and the pivotal power of federal housing policies. To understand how urban renewal resulted in the spatial reconfiguration of downtown Tucson, Otero draws on scholarship from a wide range of disciplines: Chicana/o, ethnic, and cultural studies; urban history, sociology, and anthropology; city planning; and cultural and feminist geography.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

On March 1, 1966, the voters of Tucson approved the Pueblo Center Redevelopment Project—Arizona’s first major urban renewal project—which targeted the most densely populated eighty acres in the state. For close to one hundred years, tucsonenses had created their own spatial reality in the historical, predominantly Mexican American heart of the city, an area most called “la calle.” Here, amid small retail and service shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, they openly lived and celebrated their culture. To make way for the Pueblo Center’s new buildings, city officials proceeded to displace la calle’s residents and to demolish their ethnically diverse neighborhoods, which, contends Lydia Otero, challenged the spatial and cultural assumptions of postwar modernity, suburbia, and urban planning.

Otero examines conflicting claims to urban space, place, and history as advanced by two opposing historic preservationist groups: the La Placita Committee and the Tucson Heritage Foundation. She gives voice to those who lived in, experienced, or remembered this contested area, and analyzes the historical narratives promoted by Anglo American elites in the service of tourism and cultural dominance.

La Calle explores the forces behind the mass displacement: an unrelenting desire for order, a local economy increasingly dependent on tourism, and the pivotal power of federal housing policies. To understand how urban renewal resulted in the spatial reconfiguration of downtown Tucson, Otero draws on scholarship from a wide range of disciplines: Chicana/o, ethnic, and cultural studies; urban history, sociology, and anthropology; city planning; and cultural and feminist geography.

More books from University of Arizona Press

Cover of the book Alternative Leadership Strategies in the Prehispanic Southwest by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Demigods on Speedway by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book The Origins of Southwestern Agriculture by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book The King of Lighting Fixtures by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Savage Kin by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Western Apache Raiding and Warfare by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Thunderweavers/ Tejedoras de rayos by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book From Tribute to Communal Sovereignty by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Barry Goldwater and the Remaking of the American Political Landscape by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Palm Frond with Its Throat Cut by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book The Only One Living to Tell by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Hopi Dwellings by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Friars, Soldiers, and Reformers by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Exploring Mars by Lydia R. Otero
Cover of the book Alcohol in Latin America by Lydia R. Otero
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy