Africville, an African-Canadian village formerly located just north of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in the mid-18th century, Africville became a prosperous seaside community, but the City of Halifax demolished it in the 1960s in what many said was an act of racism after decades of neglect and the placement of undesirable services there. The mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality apologized in 2010 for Africville’s destruction. For many people, Africville represents the oppression faced by Black Canadians and the efforts to right historic wrongs.

Africville Media Project Example

The Rockaways is a narrow spit of land peeking out between the waters of The Atlantic Ocean and Jamaica Bay. This 11-mile peninsula is one of the largest urban beaches in the US at the southernmost tip of NYC in the borough of Queens. Its relative isolation from the city has traditionally made it a popular summer retreat but also a dumping ground for the city’s neediest populations. The Rockaways has largely been a forgotten, ignored community for the past 30-40 years making it a microcosm of the bygone era of a gritty, more impoverished NYC. A beautiful beach that on one end is home to some of the city's wealthiest citizens and a few blocks down home to much of Queens’ subsidized housing and poor communities. 

The Rockaways has gone through many phases of urban renewal in the past 100 years. Currently, the area is facing another stage of redevelopment due to new interest in the area as a popular summer hipster retreat. New opportunities for rebuilding and urban design were brought into light by Superstorm Sandy’s very recent devastation of the area.

Ian Daniel