Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Contemporary perceptions of nine decades of depopulation in New Bedford, Massachusetts

2012; Palgrave Macmillan; Volume: 18; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1057/udi.2012.25

1468-4519

Justin B. Hollander,

Urban Planning and Governance

Economic decline associated with the Rustbelt's shift away from manufacturing hit many places hard, but few saw the kind of wholesale shift in its physical form as New Bedford, Massachusetts. This article asks what physical changes occurred during the city's sharp decline in population from 1920 to 2010, and how residents, community leaders and government officials perceive the problems and opportunities generated by this decline. This article begins to offer an answer through a spatial analysis of historic Sanborn maps, Geographic Information System (GIS) data and photographic evidence to examine how building location, density and form have changed over the last half-century of depopulation, coupled with interviews of residents, community leaders and government officials.