The 20th century brought a rollercoaster of shifts in commerce and social life in the Mid-Hudson:
- Discrimination in the U.S. housing system resulted in efforts such as redlining — denying services (typically financial) to residents of certain areas based on who they are — causing decades of disinvestment and segregation.
- Urban renewal schemes to improve “blighted” neighborhoods and provide better housing conditions instead displaced, rearranged, and divided large communities in these cities.
- The boom and bust from industries such as building supplies and big tech set lasting impacts on the socioeconomic makeup of the Mid-Hudson’s urban areas.
- Access to the river, its tributaries, and vibrant open spaces were unevenly distributed throughout the region.
- Large-scale land use and economic activities left many residents displaced or isolated in areas with less access to nature such as street trees and urban waterways and parks.
More recently, a real estate boom in the Hudson Valley has been changing the social, economic, and natural landscapes in these river cities. Local and long-term residents — particularly immigrants, lower-income communities, and other vulnerable populations — are disproportionately facing the negative impacts of this changing market. Mounting environmental threats add an additional layer of impact and vulnerability with uneven distribution of urban heat, air quality, flood risk, and access to nature across the region.
These cities have lived through shifting tides of commercial, industrial, and cultural activity in the region. We believe that through collaborations that focus on community well-being and access to open spaces, they can flourish and bring benefits to all residents and generations to come.
