ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS



INSTITUTIONS AND URBAN REVITALIZATION:



THE CASE OF MANHATTAN



By DAVID WILSOM, Ph.D.



Dissertation Director, Professor Robert W. Lake



The study of institutional influence on urban residential structure has gained increasing ascendancy in urban geography.  This new emphasis can be attributed to the growing awareness of supply and constraint factors in structuring the context for residential choice and preference.  This research further developed this approach by considering the context of institutional activity influencing neighborhood revitalization in New York City.  Using the J-51 tax subsidy program as a surrogate, the objective was to examine the uneven spatial distribution of neighborhood upgrading between 1970 and 1980.  Primary emphasis was placed on examining the city-wide and neighborhood institutions and their conflicting objectives, values, and activities which play a role in funneling reinvestment into one area, the Upper West Side, but not the other, Chelsea.  The results suggest that local institutions are influential in guiding reinvestment across space.  Such institutions provided the prerequisite resources permitting upgrading to occur, and selectively restructured the physical and social environment of communities to create reinvestment incentives.  The end product of the research was to gain a greater understanding of institutional influences on neighborhood revitalization in particular and urban structure in general.