Gis and Spatial Knowledge Production for Neighborhood Revitalization: Negotiating State Priorities and Neighborhood Visions

ABSTRACT:

In this article, we examine the role of geographic information systems used by neighborhood organizations in their planning and revitalization efforts in US inner cities. The use of GIS is related to marked changes in the roles and responsibilities of neighborhood organizations as part of a neoliberal policy agenda that expects them to play an increasing role in neighborhood revitalization. Drawing upon research about neighborhood organizations in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, we show how the spatial knowledge and revitalization strategies produced by these organizations frequently reflect and reinforce those promoted by the state. At the same time, some neighborhood organizations construct alternative knowledge through their use of GIS and employ alternative visions of neighborhood revitalization as they navigate the tensions between community visions and state priorities.