Linking race, the value of land and the value of life

Gibbons, AR

Abstract

This paper works to more fully integrate critical theories of race and privilege with political economy to explore the connections between segregation, property values and violence in US cities. Through the prism of Los Angeles (LA), it exposes the economic mechanisms and history of violent struggle by which whiteness became, and remains, an intrinsic component of high land values. The resulting articulations of racial ideologies and geography, connecting circuits of real estate capital to common sense and racialised constructions of ‘community’, have helped drive LA’s fragmented and unsustainable form and increasing privatisation. They also lie at the root of violence inflicted upon those excluded, both ideologically and physically, from white constructions of community. This dynamic is key for theorising in support of ongoing justice struggles to create safe and sustainable cities for all.

Citation

Gibbons, A. (2016). Linking race, the value of land and the value of life. City, 20(6), 863-879. https://doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2016.1245049

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 10, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jan 17, 2017
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Feb 1, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 17, 2018
• Journal: City
• Print ISSN: 1360-4813
• Electronic ISSN: 1470-3629
• Publisher: Routledge
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 863-879
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2016.1245049
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2016.1245049
• Related Public URLs: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ccit20/current