The Renewal Project
The Renewal Project is a national coalition seeking to remember and redress the historical harms of university-driven displacement and dispossession from urban renewal. This coalition brings together teams of university faculty, staff, students, and community leaders across the country to support local campaigns for redress. Through teaching, research, and public memory activities, we leverage the power of collective action to develop strategies for repair, including community reinvestment, police reform, and financial compensation.
The Project is coordinated through a collaboration between the University of Minnesota, the Smart Cities Research Lab at Trinity College, and the Humanities Action Lab at Hunter College.
Project Teams
- Athens, GA – Linnetown and the University of Georgia
- Denver, CO – Auraria and University of Colorado Denver
- Frostburg, MD – Brownsville and Frostburg State University
- Bowling Green, KY – Jonesville and Western Kentucky University
- Chicago, IL – Near West Side and University of Illinois Chicago
- Flint, MI – St. John Street Neighborhood and University of Michigan Flint
Consulting & Development Projects
- Brandi Kellam, “State Probe into Black Communities’ Displacement Surges Forward With Infusion of Funds,” Virginia Mercury (June 2, 2025)
- Davarian Baldwin, “How universities became the friendly face of urban renewal projects that destroyed and displaced Black communities,” TheGrio (December 13, 2023)
- Documentary film, Uprooted, ProPublica (December 9, 2023)
News Series (Expert Comment)
- Louis Hansen, “Virginia’s Public Universities Have a Long History of Displacing Black Residents,” ProPublica (September 11, 2023)
- Brandi Kellam and Louis Hansen, “This Thriving Black Community was Destroyed to Create an All-White College. It’s Not the Only One,” Essence (September 5, 2023)
- IMPACT: “Virginia Lawmaker Calls for Commission to Study State Universities’ History of Uprooting Black Communities,” Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism (November 10, 2023)