Sweet Auburn: Constructing Atlanta's Auburn avenue as a heritage tourist destination

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Utilizing redevelopment plans created by Central Atlanta Progress, this study explores the process of constructing a heritage tourist landscape on Atlanta's Auburn Avenue. Once home to the wealthiest African American community in the United States, Auburn Avenue went through a period of economic decline in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2000, planners for the City of Atlanta focused on redeveloping the Auburn Avenue corridor. At that time, Central Atlanta Progress began to update plans to convert Auburn Avenue into the United States' premier African American tourist destination. Utilizing those plans, this article argues that the city's redevelopment vision ties into particular aspects of African American identity, which link to neoliberal economic policies in an effort to turn Auburn Avenue into a "culturetainment" district. This vision is juxtaposed against the reaction of community residents who seek an alternative redevelopment vision.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)573-594
Number of pages22
JournalUrban Geography
Volume31
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2010

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Urban Studies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sweet Auburn: Constructing Atlanta's Auburn avenue as a heritage tourist destination'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this