The last half of the 20th Century made a big impact on the urban form of American cities. The most rapid change occurred during the mid-century urban renewal period that cleared large tracts of urban land for new highways, parking, and public facilities or housing projects. Fine-grained networks of streets and buildings on small lots were replaced with freeways, superblocks, and megastructures. While the period did make way for impressive new projects in many cities, many scars are still unhealed.

Urban Renewal and other city mega-projects had a specific impact on low-income neighborhoods and Black neighborhoods. Planners at every level of government often targeted poor and minority communities, especially displacing Black neighborhoods, or used projects to reinforce lines of segregation. In 1961, planners told the Daily Oklahoman that the purpose of a new freeway was not only to speed up traffic, but also “wipe out a considerable portion of the city’s blighted area.” In 1963, Black author James Baldwin declared “Urban Renewal… means Negro Removal.” The programs damaged the economic, social, and physical well-being of African Americans in cities.

We put together these sliders to show how cities have changed over half a century. Select a region to view and click and drag the slider bar as shown in the image to compare cities before and after this period.