The Rents of Whiteness

Philip M. E. Garboden

Journal of the American Planning Association, 2023, vol. 89, issue 4, 517-523

Abstract: In this Viewpoint, I develop the concept of the rents of Whiteness as a tool that urban planners can use when evaluating land use issues. The exclusionary power conferred by Whiteness has been leveraged for the economic benefit of privileged communities in myriad ways. This phenomenon can be usefully described as a form of rent-seeking: deriving profits from legal or social exclusion. Planners confront the rents of Whiteness in many forms, including neighborhood exclusion, environmental injustice, and the occupation of tribal lands. Conceptualizing these situations as racial rent-seeking clarifies how benefits captured by White communities are inexorably linked to harms done in non-White communities. I conclude with recommendations for dismantling these rents. For technocratic approaches, planners must not confuse the loss of rents with material harm. In the communicative sphere, planners must redefine communities to include those who have been historically excluded.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01944363.2022.2121308 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rjpaxx:v:89:y:2023:i:4:p:517-523

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/rjpa20

DOI: 10.1080/01944363.2022.2121308

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of the American Planning Association is currently edited by Sandi Rosenbloom

More articles in Journal of the American Planning Association from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().