LEGACY LANDS | PROTOPIAN FUTURES

“Injustice is a decision. What if we were in control of making different decisions for justice?”

If we are to advance a more inclusive and just urban redevelopment agenda – one that does not extend the practice of displacement - we must acknowledge that these Black neighborhoods and the legacy of their land histories hold a heritage that must inform the possibilities for its future cultural restoration, development, and liberation (ownership). Legacy Lands | Protopian Futures:  Reclamation, Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Indianapolis, was a multi-disciplinary design studio at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, conducted in the Fall 2022 semester, that imagines the future possibilities for the Black heritage neighborhoods of Indiana Avenue if racial segregation, eminent domain, and slum clearance policies had not disrupted the thriving Black communities of Ransom Place, Fayette Street and Pat’s Bottom, as well as the preceding native American land settlements.