Knowledge Bank

Part I of this thesis critiques the monolithic view of many people hold of US cities and explores the various forms of housing and transportation idealized throughout Dayton’s history. It investigates how the advent of new means of transportation such as the streetcar and automobile encouraged the development of suburbs like Oakwood and Huber Heights in different eras, while simultaneously discriminatory housing policies promoted ownership of single family homes and segregated metropolitans. Part II examines how decades of housing discrimination confined large parts of Dayton’s black population to the Westside while urban renewal, police brutality, and high unemployment perpetuated poor socioeconomic conditions in the neighborhood. This section explores the inter-organizational conflicts within SCOPE and MAT which prevented the organizations from conquering these urban problems. Their limited successes led to disillusionment which helped ignite the Dayton Riot of 1966. Part II also examines the attitudes white suburbanites subsequently developed after the riot which influenced their belief that segregation resulted from black culture and personal failures. Part III begins with the establishment of the Committee of Eleven in 1964 and details how they spent sixteen years fighting for incorporation in order to protect their business interests, low tax rates, and avoid school desegregation. Part III then compares the campaign for incorporation by the Committee of Eleven to the battle to bar public transportation by the Beavercreek City Council.