"Excuse Me, but We're a Neighborhood Here, and We Care": School Closure and Neighborhood Place

• In Event: 45.054 - The Politics of School Closures, Gentrification, and Displacement: Examining Resistance and Engagement

Abstract

Schools help shape place; when schools are closed and repurposed that relationship is qualitatively changed. Yet, the impact of school closure on neighborhoods remains understudied. This paper presents a case study examining two neighborhoods in a small city in Michigan. Data includes interviews with residents and community leaders as well as school and neighborhood documents and demographic data. This paper examines common themes between the two communities as residents experience the transition from a public neighborhood school to private business in their neighborhood. This transition from a public space, imbued with community memory, to a private place, generated significant political blowback—an issue that had ripple effects throughout both communities.

Author

• Tanner S Delpier, Michigan State University