Building Pentimento: A Framework for Maintaining Cultural Identity in Urban Development By: Brandon C. Jones May 2018 A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M.A. in Cultural Sustainability Capstone Committee: Roxanne J. Kymaani, Ph.D. Susan Eleuterio Elke Davidson Goucher College 1 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................. 4 Prologue ............................................................................................................................... 5 A Note from the Author ......................................................................................................... 8 Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................... 9 Research Aim: .................................................................................................................................................... 13 Methodology and Thesis Outline .................................................................................................. 13 Chapter Two: Understanding the Atlanta Canvas ................................................................. 15 The First Coat of Paint: History and Context .................................................................................. 15 The Second Coat of Paint: Community Distinction & Vulnerability ................................................. 23 Chapter Three: Literature Review and Theoretical Frameworks........................................... 27 Identity ........................................................................................................................................ 28 Defining Identity: ................................................................................................................................................ 28 Identity Development Theory: ............................................................................................................................ 30 Collective Identity Theory: ................................................................................................................................. 34 Place ........................................................................................................................................... 37 Defining Place: ................................................................................................................................................... 37 Sense of Place: ................................................................................................................................................... 40 Place Attachment: .............................................................................................................................................. 43 Place Identity and Place Dependence: ........................................................................................................... 44 Influencing Factors of Place Attachment: ..................................................................................................... 45 Loss of Place: ..................................................................................................................................................... 48 Community Change ...................................................................................................................... 50 The Three Schools of Thought on Neighborhood Change: ................................................................................ 52 Ecological ...................................................................................................................................................... 52 Subcultural ..................................................................................................................................................... 56 Political Economy .......................................................................................................................................... 58 Gentrification: .................................................................................................................................................... 60 Chapter Four: Current Models ............................................................................................ 66 The STAR Community Rating System ............................................................................................ 66 The Four Pillars of Sustainability ................................................................................................... 72 Inquiries for Additional Research .................................................................................................. 77 Chapter Five: Conclusion .................................................................................................... 78 The Final Coat of Paint ................................................................................................................. 78 Urban Planners: ................................................................................................................................................. 79 Real Estate Developers: ..................................................................................................................................... 80 City Officials: ..................................................................................................................................................... 80 2 Community Leaders: .......................................................................................................................................... 81 Philanthropy: ...................................................................................................................................................... 81 Cultural Sustainability Practitioners: ................................................................................................................ 82 A Closing Note from the Author .......................................................................................... 83 References........................................................................................................................... 84 3 Abstract This paper examines the theoretical frameworks of cultural identity in the context of urban developmental applications in Atlanta, Georgia. By providing a brief historical overview of urban development practices in the city and connecting those practices to impacts on individual and collective identities, the goal of this paper is to bridge theoretical scholarship with practical application. This is done by examining identity construction, place, neighborhood change theories, and national and international models for culturally sustainable development. This paper will provide a foundation for conceptualizing the strategic tools and processes that integrate cultural identity into operational aspects of local urban development frameworks. 4 Prologue Old paint on canvas, as it ages, sometimes becomes transparent. When that happens it is possible, in some pictures, to see the original lines: a tree will show through a woman’s dress, a child makes way for a dog, a large boat is no longer on an open sea. That is called pentimento because the painter “repented,” changed his mind. Perhaps it would be as well to say that the old conception, replaced by a later choice, is a way of seeing and then seeing again. - Lillian Hellman, Pentimento When the concept of “pentimento” or pentimenti (Italian for “repent”) was first presented to me by my capstone committee member, Elke Davison, I was immediately fascinated. Elke shared this sentiment and recalled being introduced to the word and its meaning in the Lillian Hellman novel of the same name. Unsure if the term held much- if any- correlation to the academic grounds of my capstone topic, I could not dismiss it as a reoccurring motif throughout my research. Slowly, the concept has now painted the lens in which I view my work as a scholar, practitioner, and conscious observer of place and identity. Primarily referenced in the arts sector by conservators, curators, and historians, pentimento refers to the reappearance of an original drawn or painted element in a painting, which was eventually painted over by the artist.1 Pablo Picasso’s “Blue Period” (1901-1904) provides ample examples for spectators to witness this artistic repentance. During that period Picasso’s funds for supplies were limited, and he was often forced to repurpose canvases. In the immensely well-known painting The Old Guitarist, Picasso depicts, in deep blue hues, an image 1 http://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/godwin-bradbeer-pentimenti 5 of an elderly man curled over a guitar--presumably mid song. Yet, at closer inspection, an outline of a woman nursing a small child- accompanied by a bull and a sheep is revealed. Picasso’s The Blue Room, from the same series, depicts an image of a woman washing herself alone in a room, yet bleeding through is the silhouette of a bearded man adorned with jewelry. By applying pentimento to this capstone, which explores cultural identity and the built environment, three distinctions arise as a mode of articulating the theories and applications discussed in the following text. The first mode is the bleeding through of that which is original. This resilience, as it can certainly be described, is not only evident in the