A Place Called Poppleton: Investigating the Slow Violence of Redevelopment in West Baltimore

Exploring the history of extractive redevelopment and displacement in Poppleton—a historically Black neighborhood in West Baltimore—frames the long history of urban renewal as a form of slow violence. Through a collective narrative investigation, I make a methodological argument that urban historians and preservationists should demystify these bureaucratic processes by engaging and centering the voices of those affected by and combating violence on an everyday basis. The article traces the 1930s era of displacement and the rise and decline of public housing to connect past forces of displacement and resistance to more recent neoliberal redevelopment schemes—most specifically the public-private partnership. The displacement of residents and the long-stalled redevelopment of Poppleton present a case study of both the potential harm of extractive redevelopment and the long history of residents’ resistance to slow violence through collective narrative investigations.