ABSTRACT
That urban redevelopment has, at times, directly harmed the poor is one of the darkest facts of redevelopment history. Commonly, the neighborhoods of the poor were the very areas cleared for redevelopment. In recent years, redevelopment projects have been less likely to directly harm the poor, but a second, related, problem has surfaced: the focus upon revitalization as a process for the benefit of middle and upper class citizens, with only indirect benefits for poorer members of urban society. This chapter explores the state of human resources in contemporary urban America, and to reflect upon the lessons learned from the Cities' Congress concerning the impact of current redevelopment efforts upon urban residents, especially those of low income. In the 1960s, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders charged that we were moving toward two nations in the United States, one black and one white.
