Critical Design on the changing city of Troy, NY

This project was a critical design comparing one city in two different time periods, a study on gentrification and changing urban spaces in Troy, NY. The first puzzle displays Troy in the early 1950s, at the tail end of a period of great industrial growth. In the years after this, the city experienced a loss of population and business. The second map shows Troy in 2016, a few years into a revitalization effort labeled “Realize Troy,”. 

 

As someone completes the 2016 puzzle, the pieces of the 1950s puzzle are covered or removed, provoking thought on what may have happened to the businesses, families, religious entities, and cultural groups that are no longer prevalent.