{"id":86,"date":"2019-05-06T09:25:55","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T09:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ualrexhibits.org\/mappingblog\/?p=86"},"modified":"2019-10-07T18:53:13","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T18:53:13","slug":"collection-highlight-metroplan-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ualrexhibits.org\/mappingblog\/2019\/05\/06\/collection-highlight-metroplan-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Collection highlight: Metroplan records"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Acadia Roher<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you fascinated by the stories of how Little Rock has changed over time? A massive urban renewal effort from the 1950s to the mid-1970s is largely responsible for the city we navigate today. Urban renewal shifted neighborhoods, redeveloped downtown, sped the expansion of western suburbs, built public housing, and led to the construction of interstates and roads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cover of a report on the Livestock Show Area urban renewal project, credit: UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Metroplan records.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

To reshape the city, private business and government agencies across Central Arkansas collaborated primarily through the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission of Pulaski County, now known as Metroplan<\/a>. Metroplan is the entity responsible for planning and resourcing most of our public infrastructure such as the water that comes out of the tap, the bus system that traverses the streets, and the bridges that cross the Arkansas River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if you wanted to dig into the details of\nhow exactly this infrastructure was developed? Luckily, we at the Mapping\nRenewal project are busy digitizing a series of reports going back to the 1950s\nthat were given to the Center for Arkansas History and Culture by Metroplan.\nEventually, these resources will be available to the public via an interactive\nonline map, thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wide variety of scholars will find research uses among the as-yet unprocessed maps and reports. These primary sources cover a diversity of city and regional planning topics, from water resources to schools to public transit to industrial development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sketch from the report of homes in the Livestock Show Area before demolition, credit: UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Metroplan records.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A few reports address specific urban renewal project sites, such as the Livestock Show Area off Roosevelt Road near the South End. A 67-page report from March 1958 about this project site uses detailed text, illustrations, and maps to lay out the relocation, demolition, and redevelopment process planned by white city planners and developers for a predominantly Black neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sketch from the report of white planners at work, credit: UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Metroplan records.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Researchers have a lot to dig into here,\nincluding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n