40 Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025 Jess Myers: on Pioneer Homes & Syracuse’s 15th Ward FEATURE The Small Cities Lab spoke with Jess Myers, Assistant Professor at Syracuse University, about her research on Syracuse’s 15th Ward. Within these 8 blocks, the city has actively produced the conditions of urban blight through racialized zoning and discriminatory lending practices. These same conditions are then used to justify successive “transformation” plans, rooted in a paternalistic belief in the physical and “moral uplift” of residents. These projects repeatedly promised that displaced residents would be able to return, which have gone unfulfilled –a story that looms as the city pushes for another redevelopment initiative. The narrative that follows is based on Jess’ research and weaves together excerpts from her conference paper “8 Blocks in Downtown Syracuse” and insights from our recent conversation.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0OTQ5OA==