Resident perceptions and interactions: studying the impact of microaggressions on a gentrifiying community
| Author(s) | Davison, April | |
| Date Accessioned | 2023-10-09T16:55:23Z | |
| Date Available | 2023-10-09T16:55:23Z | |
| Publication Date | 2023 | |
| SWORD Update | 2023-09-20T19:09:27Z | |
| Abstract | Amid the backdrop of urbanization, the characteristics of a place, including the people, inevitably change over time. In Wilmington, Delaware, Market Street is one place where revitalization and investment efforts have led to gentrification. Market Street is undergoing revitalization and experiencing an influx of higher-income residents and commercial development. This dissertation focuses on the relationships between new and old residents and how change may lead to a specific type of interaction known as microaggressions. Microaggressions describe the small but significant interactions of hostility that people can experience based on their social identities, such as race/ethnicity, class, and gender. This study assesses the experiences of residents with microaggressions and how those experiences impacted their perception of the community. More specifically, I explored the effects on social cohesion. Using a narrative analysis approach, I captured the everyday lived experiences of community members and the lasting consequences of those experiences along Market Street from the participants' perspectives. ☐ Using a qualitative narrative analysis approach and rephotography, the project explores perceptions of community changes, resident interaction, and effects on perceptions of the space. I conducted interviews with past and present community members along Market Street to capture some of their everyday lived experiences. Participants shared negative interactions with others on Market Street and how they influenced how residents perceived the broader changes occurring in the communities, their identities in the space, and what it meant for the overall community experience. While the interview protocol focused on negative interactions, participants sometimes shared positive attributes about Market Street in through rephotography, or as anecdotes during their stories. The participants often provided a juxtaposition between negative and previous positive interactions (excellent service and feeling valued as a customer). Positive interactions ranged from nostalgia for how they used to feel about Market Street (from established or fluctuating residents), proximity to workspaces or entertainment life, walkability, and safety. The findings from the research provide evidence that these interactions within a gentrifying space matter for how individuals experienced their community. In addition to gentrification's visible and physical markers, unseen person-to-person exchanges can have significant impacts. The findings of this research contribute to the academic conversations related to the unseen impacts of gentrification, the importance of looking at microaggressions in a community setting, and suggest that these interactions should be considered in planning and governance processes to promote equitable development. | |
| Advisor | Trainor, Joseph E. | |
| Degree | Ph.D. | |
| Department | University of Delaware, School of Public Policy and Administration | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.58088/0d3a-f652 | |
| Unique Identifier | 1408677131 | |
| URL | https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/33376 | |
| Language | en | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | |
| URI | https://login.udel.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/resident-perceptions-interactions-studying-impact/docview/2868542907/se-2?accountid=10457 | |
| Keywords | Gentrifiying community | |
| Keywords | Microaggressions | |
| Keywords | Resident perceptions | |
| Keywords | Rephotography | |
| Keywords | Person-to-person exchanges | |
| Title | Resident perceptions and interactions: studying the impact of microaggressions on a gentrifiying community | |
| Type | Thesis |