The Gentrification of Chicago as a Result of Urban Renewal: The Effect on Little “Not So” Italy and Public Housing

Abstract

Starting in the 1940s, the Urban Renewal Act was implemented to rebuild the slums in cities around the United States, with the goal of creating a new beginning. In Chicago, Urban Renewal was an excuse for the demolition of Little Italy, leading to the displacement of and disappearance of the community. The intended goal of this removal was to make room for the expansion of the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC) campus. The Urban Renewal Act also resulted in the creation of public housing, most notably the Cabrini- Green homes. Urban Renewal targeted communities, intended or not, that consisted primarily of people of color. Some of these communities were relocated to public housing, being promised that the new housing would be a Utopia. These promises would quickly devolve and Cabrini-Green would be run by gangs and residents would be shot at from rooftops of the buildings. Urban Renewal promised a a reconstruction of the communities for the better, but resulted in worse conditions than before.