University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations August 2018 The aleT of Two Cities: a Feminist Critique of Economic Development & Neoliberal Multiculturalism in Milwaukee Yui Hashimoto University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Geography Commons Recommended Citation Hashimoto, Yui, "The aleT of Two Cities: a Feminist Critique of Economic Development & Neoliberal Multiculturalism in Milwaukee" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 1820. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1820 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE TALE OF TWO CITIES: A FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & NEOLIBERAL MULTICULTURALISM IN MILWAUKEE by Yui Hashimoto A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August 2018 ABSTRACT THE TALE OF TWO CITIES: A FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND NEOLIBERAL MULTICULTURALISM IN MILWAUKEE by Yui Hashimoto The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2018 Under the Supervision of Professor Anne Bonds In this dissertation, I examine how race articulates with economic development in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Drawing on two years of participant observation with the Milwaukee Fight for 15; participant observation of public meetings and days of action; semi-structured interviews with City officials, business leaders, non-profit professionals, and community organizers; and media and document analysis, I find that normative discourses of race underpin economic development in Milwaukee even as City officials and boosters give nominal recognition to racial inequality and purport to embrace diversity and colourblindness. First, I trace historical and contemporary trajectories of economic development and segregation to show how the elision of such histories allows City leaders and members fo the business community to pose inadequate solutions that fail to actually address entrenched segregation and racialized poverty. Then, I examine the Milwaukee Fight for 15 as a mobilization to counter the City’s redevelopment strategy, which is reliant on low-wage workers, and show how it was ultimately unsuccessful because of its inability to embed the everyday lives of fast food workers within a broader racial capitalist context in the city. Finally, I examine the City of Milwaukee’s creative class-based economic redevelopment strategy to understand how ii the circulation of the ‘tale of two cities’ discourse reproduces normative socio-spatial patterns of racialization even as it puts forth an agenda of diversity and colourblindness. Taken together, my dissertation sheds light on how racial capitalism operates and rearticulates through colourblind discourses of economic development in a local urban context with a specific racial politics. My dissertation illustrates how local discourses and strategies of development are contested terrain where movement building for social justice comes into conflict with urban restructuring in a neoliberal context. iii © Copyright by Yui Hashimoto, 2018 All Rights Reserved iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of figures…………………………………………………………………………………….. vi Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………vii Chapter 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter 2. “Not stadiums but real investment where people live”: Theorizing organized abandonment in Milwaukee Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….... 34 Theorizing organized abandonment……………………………………………………………... 39 A brief history of organized abandonment in Milwaukee………………………………………. 45 Redressing organized abandonment…………………………………………………………….. 56 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………. 75 Chapter 3. Wages, everyday life, and a Black sense of place: On the Fight for 15 in Milwaukee Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………… 84 Building a Black sense of place through ‘life’s work’………………………………………….. 91 Fast food workers’ everyday lives in Milwaukee……………………………………………….. 95 Contextualizing the Fight for 15 in Milwaukee………………………………………………... 101 The Fight for 15 and Milwaukee Fight for 15…………………………………………………. 115 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………... 127 Chapter 4. Racing the creative class: Economic development, neoliberal multiculturalism, and the racialized discourses of work Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 136 A ‘tale of two cities’…………………………………………………………………………… 140 Racing the creative class……………………………………………………………………….. 144 Deserving of development……………………………………………………………………... 150 Undeserving of development: normative racialized discourses of work………………………. 155 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………... 162 Chapter 5. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………… 171 Appendices Appendix A: Sample questions for stakeholders………………………………………………. 179 Appendix B: Sample questions for fast food workers…………………………………………. 180 Appendix C: List of interviews………………………………………………………………… 181 Curriculum vitae………………………………………………………………………………182 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. A map of intra-metropolitan segregation in Milwaukee……………………………….. 5 Figure 2. Racial dot map of Milwaukee………………………………………………………….39 Figure 3. A Milwaukee County Transit System bus advertising transit to jobs in the suburbs…. 65 Figure 4. A map of downtown Milwaukee highlighting sites of redevelopment……………… 143 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As has been told many times before, this dissertation is a culmination of the love, energy, and intellect of myriad people. The PhD is a long and grueling process interspersed with joy that I could not have finished alone. First and foremost, I dedicate my dissertation to my parents, Aki and Masataka Hashimoto, for instilling in me my love of learning, curiosity about the world around me, and the need to always fight for justice. To Anne Bonds, my mentor and advisor-extraordinaire: Words fail me in describing how grateful I am every day for your mentorship and support over the past six years. You have taught me so many invaluable lessons about teaching, research, and mentorship that I look forward to taking forward with me on my next adventures. You taught me what feminist ethics of care looks like in practice. I could not have finished this journey without you, your guidance, and your words of encouragement. Thank you. I look forward to many more years of mentorship and collaboration! To Ryan Dzelzkalns, my dearest friend and confidant: Your emotional support, love, and editorial prowess has been invaluable in this journey. You always bring levity, critical analysis, and creativity to our friendship and professional endeavours. To Ray & LeeAnn Dzelzkalns, my home away from home: Thank you for your unwavering generosity and being family. I am so grateful to have such nurturing and nourishing family in Milwaukee. To Keishi Hashimoto & Tina Park, the most supportive siblings a grad student could ask for: We have been through a lot these past few years, and I’ve only made it through with your vii love and encouragement. Thank you for the best culinary and outdoor adventures through Seattle and Minneapolis that took my mind off of the pressures of grad school and life. To Kristin Sziarto: I am in awe of your commitment to us, the students. If I can embody a small portion of your dedication to teaching and learning, I will have succeeded. You have taught me so much about what it is to have a life-long commitment to students. To my exceptional committee members, Anna Mansson McGinty, Jenna Loyd, and Ryan Holifield: You have all pushed my thinking, provided invaluable feedback, and allowed me to grow into the scholar I am today. Ryan, you taught me the fundamentals of academia. Anna, your insightful questions over long breakfasts have drawn me to think more deeply about methods. Jenna, you have taught me the joy and power of collaborative scholarship and interdisciplinarity. To Catie Glatz & Mandy Hulke, my besties, my comrades in moving, gallivanting, adventuring, and general indulging in life: Where would I be without you both? Our times together always bring me joy. You both have always been there for me through thick and thin. To Katie Merkle: What can I say? This year has been a whirlwind, and I couldn’t have done it without you. How did I make it before we became friends? You have been there for the emotional roller coaster of tears, crank, hunger, anger, laughter, Schitt’s Creek, baking, and relaxing. To my fellow graduate students at UWM, Rebecca Wolfe, Margaret Pettygrove, Nick Padilla, Ryan & Lizzie Covington, Gregg Culver, and Minji Kim: Where to begin with how to thank you? From late night writing sessions, to dinners at Café Corazon, to advice on how to survive the PhD, to movie marathons, your love and support has allowed me to get this far. I hope I can be half the mentors and supports you have been for me. viii To my writing group—Mae Miller, Susila Gurusami, and Ben Rubin: We might be dispersed across the country, but our time together has been instrumental in getting me across the finish line. From the logistics of how to get through the dissertation and the PhD, to our theoretical and disciplinary discussions, to the love, care, and support you have provided me in these frenzied past few months have helped get me through it. Grad school and dissertation writing are so incredibly lonely and isolating, but y’all have shown me