No Justice, No Streets! Black radical placemaking and its political aesthetics in George Floyd Square

Abstract

ABSTRACT Building from Black geographies and Black media studies, I propose “Black radical placemaking” as a communicative approach to reimagine urban planning practices toward more racially equitable futures. Using George Floyd Square as a case study and through photographic fieldwork, I argue that Black radical placemaking promotes a political aesthetics constituted of racialized inclusion, mutual aid, and reparative justice. This stands opposite to traditional urban planning practices that have historically privileged whiteness, predatory capitalism, and social control of BIPOC communities. Lastly, the study discusses how Black radical placemaking can transform communication, media, and geography scholarship toward a social justice arc.