Urban Form and Racial Order

Abstract

This study focuses on the developing urban morphology of Lexington, Kentucky since about 1790, in order to demonstrate how inherited urban geographies help shape racial patterns in the American city. The empirical component begins with a contemporary (potential) racial flashpoint as a catalyst for unpacking the city's urban morphological transformations since the late 18th century. The Lexington case illustrates the importance of particular understandings of urban sociospatial form as key in shaping racialized landscapes in general. It also contributes to a richer understanding of Southern city form and development, and ultimately holds forth the possibilities for intervening in urban sociospatial processes through the cultural landscape to challenge the always-reformulating processes of racial formation.