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URBAN DISPLACEMENT

Much of my historical work has examined what happens when cities decide that some places must disappear in the name of progress. In Tucson, the power of eminent domain was used to take property and displace Mexican American communities for urban renewal, freeway construction, and other public projects. My research looks at what was destroyed, but it is also driven by what happened to the people whose homes, businesses, and communities once occupied those places.

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1948 advertisement urging Tucson voters to oppose the proposed freeway and the displacement of residents from their homes. From In the Shadows of the Freeway, p. 54. Originally published in the Tucson Citizen, June 7, 1948, p. 25.

Maria Cordova's Casa

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This April 29, 2026 virtual presentation took a different approach and was guided by slides, images, and archival materials that helped bring forward some of the book’s central arguments and highlights. For those who missed the livestream, or would like to spend more time with the material, the presentation is now available to
watch on YouTube.

More content will be added to this page soon.

©2026 by Lydia R. Otero, Some rights reserved.

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