The DIA's Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art presents a conversation on urban renewal with scholars Ester da Costa Meyer and Lauren Hood. During the second half of the 19th century, Paris underwent a radical transformation which provided a model for urban renewal, widely accepted in its day, while at the same time dramatically increasing social inequality. Considering the urban past and present of Paris and Detroit, da Costa Meyer and Hood will discuss how the impulse to modernize impacts local communities.

Ester da Costa Meyer is Professor emerita, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University, and the author of Dividing Paris: Urban Renewal and Social Inequality, 1852–1870.

Lauren Hood is Assistant Professor of Practice in Urban and Regional Planning at University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Founder and Chief Visionary of the Institute for AfroUrbanism (IAU), a global think tank exploring the conditions for Black thriving.

Presented with American Sign Language interpretation.

This event is sponsored by the Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art. A private reception for FMCA members will follow the lecture. Become an FMCA member to access special members-only experiences.

Photo: Aerial view of Paris, ca. 1870