Gentrification Guised in Gold: How the Prudential Center Has Transformed Newark’s Ironbound and What the 2024 Olympic Village means for Seine-Saint Denis, France’s Neuf-Trois.
by Dominique Clairmonte
Site Description:
Inhabited by Portuguese, Brazilian, and Latin American immigrants since the nineteenth century, the Ironbound district in Newark, New Jersey, has long been subject to the environmental effects of industrialization and the social consequences of deindustrialization. The construction of the Prudential Center in 2007 was transformative to the city’s revitalization, bringing private and public funding to the area. Alongside these new economic investments arose fears of rent inflation, erasure of local businesses, and further environmental degradation, especially in the Ironbound, the closest residential neighborhood to the Prudential Center. Similarly, Seine-Saint-Denis, one of France’s poorest and most diverse districts with demographics counting over one-hundred and thirty different nationalities, was selected as the site to host Paris’ 2024 Olympic Village. This government-led decision came laden with promises of new jobs, upgrades to crumbling infrastructure, and sustainable economic development. However, much like the Prudential Center did in Newark, the Olympic Village conflagrated debates over gentrification, affordability, and the project’s long-term impact on immigrant communities. Despite the different cultural and economic contexts of these two case studies, their parallels raise the following question: Do such mega-projects truly serve the people they claim to uplift, or are they simply perpetuating cycles of environmental harm and displacement that have disproportionately affected marginalized populations throughout history? Through a transnational comparison, this research seeks to reveal global patterns that link urban revitalization to environmental injustice while further expanding upon historical narratives related to neoliberal urban development projects prioritizing profit and economic progress over the needs of pre-existing residents.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut diam quam nulla porttitor massa id. Elementum facilisis leo vel fringilla est ullamcorper eget nulla. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Purus semper eget duis at tellus at urna. Diam maecenas ultricies mi eget mauris. Diam ut venenatis tellus in metus vulputate eu. Ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget egestas. Quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae proin. Consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant. Cras fermentum odio eu feugiat pretium nibh ipsum consequat nisl. Lectus mauris ultrices eros in cursus turpis massa. Luctus accumsan tortor posuere ac. Porttitor eget dolor morbi non arcu. Maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna molestie. Neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque vitae. In iaculis nunc sed augue. Suspendisse interdum consectetur libero id faucibus. Sit amet porttitor eget dolor.
Felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus. At elementum eu facilisis sed odio. Eu facilisis sed odio morbi quis commodo odio aenean sed. Habitasse platea dictumst quisque sagittis purus sit amet. Et ultrices neque ornare aenean euismod elementum nisi quis eleifend. Velit dignissim sodales ut eu sem integer. Morbi tempus iaculis urna id volutpat lacus laoreet non curabitur. Aliquam eleifend mi in nulla posuere sollicitudin aliquam. Nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit. Convallis tellus id interdum velit laoreet id. Turpis in eu mi bibendum neque egestas. Magna fermentum iaculis eu non diam phasellus vestibulum. In cursus turpis massa tincidunt dui ut ornare lectus sit.
Non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse. Eros donec ac odio tempor orci. Nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis magna etiam tempor. Platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit ullamcorper. Eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec sagittis aliquam. Proin fermentum leo vel orci porta. Eget dolor morbi non arcu risus quis varius quam quisque. Nec ultrices dui sapien eget mi proin sed. Nisl nisi scelerisque eu ultrices vitae auctor eu augue. Pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et. Pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat ac. Vel orci porta non pulvinar neque. Laoreet sit amet cursus sit amet.
Pharetra massa massa ultricies mi quis hendrerit dolor magna. Mattis nunc sed blandit libero volutpat. Nec ultrices dui sapien eget. Gravida neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque. Aenean et tortor at risus viverra adipiscing at. Quisque non tellus orci ac auctor augue mauris. Ultrices in iaculis nunc sed augue lacus. Quam elementum pulvinar etiam non. Felis bibendum ut tristique et egestas. Sagittis nisl rhoncus mattis rhoncus. Ac ut consequat semper viverra. Volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas fringilla phasellus faucibus scelerisque. Urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id nibh tortor. Erat nam at lectus urna duis convallis convallis. Malesuada fames ac turpis egestas sed tempus urna et pharetra. Pellentesque diam volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas. Interdum velit euismod in pellentesque massa placerat duis ultricies lacus. Est velit egestas dui id. Pellentesque id nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh. Id nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh nisl.
Primary Sources:
1. Alderman, Liz and Catherine Porter. “Can the Olympics Rejuvenate One of France’s Poorest Corners?” The New York Times. February 20, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/world/europe/france-olympics-paris-st-denis-poverty-immigrants.html.
This article from The New York Times raises questions regarding the ambitious plans behind the construction of the Olympic Village in Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb that is disproportionally impacted by high poverty and unemployment rates. In Alderman’s and Porter’s assessment of the proposed economic and social benefits that the Olympic Village could offer the surrounding community, they also note the department’s history of being subjected to other government-led revitalization projects that have ostensibly failed. This article provides valuable insight towards the global dynamics of urban development, which will inform the transnational perspective I plan to take with my research.
2. Bréville, Benoît. “Why Parisians fear and loathe Saint-Denis.” Le Monde diplomatique. August 2022. https://mondediplo.com/2022/08/10stdenis.
Seine-Saint-Denis, as reflected upon in this article, has been subject to criticism from far-right French politicians and media stigmatization for decades, instigating fears of religious radicalization and political extremism being bread in the suburb with high poverty rates and a large immigrant population. The article historically contextualizes the development of these fears by detailing the industrialization and segregation of Paris’s peripheries in the nineteenth-century. This history helps to inform modern gentrification debates surrounding urban revitalization projects like the Olympic Village.
3. Harding, Michael-Oliver. “Branded a no-go zone: a trip inside the 93, France’s most notorious banlieue.” The Guardian. April 4, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/apr/04/photographer-banlieue-monsieur-bonheur-department-93-paris-france-fox-news-no-go-zone.
In Harding’s article published by The Guardian, he considers the work of Monsieur Bonheur, a French photographer who grew up in Seine-Saint-Denis. Bonheur’s photography challenges the media’s vilification of the 93rd as a site of social unrest by capturing the rich cultural scene of the suburb and the lived realities of those that inhabit it. Written in 2019, this article looks ahead to the 2024 Paris Olympics and provides local sentiment on the areas of Seine-Saint-Denis that were being sacrificed in preparation for the global event. I will use this article to show the intersection of local culture, media representation, and urban development in the context of global events.
4. Portlock, Sarah. “Prudential Center yet to deliver on Newark revitalization.” NJ.Com. May 22, 2011. https://www.nj.com/news/2011/03/prudential_center_yet_to_deliv.html.
Four years following the opening of the Prudential Center, this article reflects on the unfulfilled promises of stakeholders in revitalizing Newark’s downtown through the megaproject, showing a disconnect between the intentions of city planners and the actual economic and social outcomes on the urban environment. This reinforces how such initiatives often fail to deliver long-term benefits to marginalized communities.
5. Perrault, Dominique. “Dominique Perrault on Olympic Villages.” Interview by Dima Fadel. UrbanNext Lexicon. January 2025. https://urbannext.net/dominique-perrault-on-olympic-villages/.
In this interview with the architectural designer, Dominique Perrault, he highlights subject matter from his book Un Village et Son Double, discussing his design for the Olympic Village in Seine-Saint-Denis. He explains how the space will serve athletes during the Games and then, be repurposed for the local community after the event. I will use excepts from this interview with Perrault in my research to consider how Olympic infrastructure can balance short-term use with sustainable community development, and how these spaces become integrated into the urban fabric post-games.
6. “Map of the City of Newark.” Map. 2000. From Newark Public Library. Newark, NJ Maps. https://archive.org/details/NewarkMapF10/page/n1/mode/2up.
A 2000 map of Newark’s downtown district prior to the Prudential Center’s construction. This map, along with the 2007 version, will be used to show the impact of urban development on local communities through analyzing the spatial and socio-economic changes in Newark’s downtown district before and after the construction of the Prudential Center.
7. “Map of the City of Newark.” Map. 2007. From Newark Public Library. Newark, NJ Maps. https://archive.org/details/NewarkMapF11/mode/2up.
A 2007 map of Newark’s downtown district created by the city and prepared by the Newark Department of Engineering. That same year, the Prudential Center’s construction was completed and it sits on the map. This map, along with the 2000 version, will be used as visuals to show the site’s transformation in accommodating the new arena space.
8. Silberman, Alexandre. “Mohammed Rachid.” Photograph. Aubervilliers. July 2020. From PhMuseum: DIFFERENCES & REPETITIONS – Aesthetics of disappearance and overlaying in Seine-Saint-Denis. https://phmuseum.com/projects/differences-repetitions-aesthetics-of-disappearance-and-overlaying-in-seine-saint-denis#b-erm5ow.
Aubervilliers is a commune in Seine-Saint-Denis. At face value, this photo by Silberman shows a boy in a Mohammed Rachid soccer jersey wearing a disposable mask and standing amongst tents of squatters with a graffitied wall as the backdrop. The juxtaposition of the boy’s attire, the makeshift living conditions, and the disposable mask highlights the contrasts between the community’s cultural vibrancy and the harsh realities of living in an area marked by poverty and social exclusion. An image will be used and analyzed in my project as a visual representation of Seine-Saint-Denis prior to development beginning for the Olympic Village site.
9. Siberman, Alexandre. “After Evacuation.” Photograph. Aubervilliers. September 2020. From PhMuseum: DIFFERENCES & REPETITIONS – Aesthetics of disappearance and overlaying in Seine-Saint-Denis. https://phmuseum.com/projects/differences-repetitions-aesthetics-of-disappearance-and-overlaying-in-seine-saint-denis#b-erm5ow.
Another photograph by Silberman cataloging the transformation of Seine-Saint-Denis amidst Olympic Village project development. This photo was taken in the same location as the photo titled, “Mohammed Rachid”, but is absent of the tents and the boy that previously occupied the same site. This reveals how megaprojects, like the Olympic Village in Seine-Saint-Denis and The Prudential Center in Newark, displace pre-existing inhabitants and erase culture from the cities they target.
10. “Flier Arena Fight.” Flier. 2000. From Newark Public Library. Ironbound Community Corporation. https://archive.org/details/Ironbound7ap.
This public flier from 2000 was produced by the community organization, SCORE, in protest of the Prudential Center’s development. It outlines how residents in the surrounding neighborhoods will be impacted by the arena project. This will be used in my research to display grassroots efforts and advocacy against urban development projects that prioritize corporate interests over local communities. Through this, I aim to demonstrate the power of collective action in opposing top-down development that often target marginalize and low-income neighborhoods.
Secondary Sources:
Campedelli, Gian Maria, et al. “Event Impact on Crime: The Case of Prudential Center.” Journal of Experimental Criminology (2023). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11292-023-09576-8.
This study by environmental criminologists seeks to add to pre-existing literature on sport arenas and stadiums being major crime catalysts using the Prudential Center as a case study. Conducted over the course of 8 years, this study’s findings reveal that most events that took place at the Prudential Center from 2007 to 2015 were accompanied with increased crime in the downtown Newark area, demonstrating how sports infrastructure projects can have unintended, negative consequences for the very communities they claim to uplift.
Coates, Dennis and Brad R. Humphreys, “Professional Sports Facilities, Franchises, and Urban Economic Development.” UMBC Department of Economics Working Papers 03-103. September 2014. https://economics.umbc.edu/wpcontent/uploads/sites/243/2014/09/wp_03_103.pdf.
From economics professors at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, this paper offers a critical analysis of debates surrounding the economic effects of sports infrastructure projects like the Prudential Center and the Olympic Village. While it is often claimed that sports franchises and facilities promote economic development by bringing new money and jobs into the urban spaces that they occupy, there is not any significant economic data that supports this. In many cases, the adverse effects of these projects in communities are more substantiated with evidence revealing income loss.
Hakan, Arana. “Megaprojects’ Exclusionary Benefits: the Case of Local Government Policy Benefiting the Privileged Few.” Harvard Real Estate Review. May 16, 2017. https://medium.com/harvard-real-estate-review/megaprojects-exclusionary-benefits-the-case-of-local-government-policy-benefiting-the-privileged-db4d1a8228bc.
This article investigates the impact of megaprojects in New York, precisely their tendency to affect low-income communities through gentrification and displacement disproportionately. Similarly to megaprojects in New York, The Prudential Center in Newark and the Olympic Village in Seine-Saint-Denis are framed as solutions to urban blight. However, this article suggest that these projects tend to benefit large corporations and politically influential groups more than the local, marginalized residents.
Juskus, Ryan. “Sacrifice Zones: A Genealogy and Analysis of an Environmental Justice Concept.” Environmental Humanities 15, no. 1 (2023): 3-24. https://read.dukeupress.edu/environmental-humanities/article/15/1/3/343379/Sacrifice-ZonesA-Genealogy-and-Analysis-of-an.
This paper traces the evolution of the term “sacrifice zones,” from its beginnings in livestock management to its modern use in environmental justice. The author proposes rethinking environmental harm as a “slow sacrifice,” where specific areas are deliberately harmed to allow others to thrive. This paper offers a theoretical framework for understanding how specific areas like the Ironbound and Seine-Saint-Denis are deliberately subjected to harm and environmental degradation to benefit more affluent or economically powerful areas.
Le Moigne, Yohann and Gregory Smithsimon and Alex Schafran. “Neither Race nor the 93 Are What You Think They Are.” Hérodote 2016/3 No 162. (2016). https://shs.cairn.info/journal-herodote-2016-3-page-99?lang=en&tab=texte-integral
Written from an American perspective, this journal article parallels the concept of Race to the site of Seine-Saint-Denis and how both are often misconstrued in France’s public discourse. Unlike the United States, France refuses to recognize race in discussions of urban dynamics and public policy which contributes to the marginalization of immigrant communities in areas like Seine-Saint-Denis. This parallels the issues faced by Newark’s Ironbound district, where similar dynamics of race and displacement are ignored in discussions about revitalization.
Vento, Amparo Tarazona. “Megaprojects in austerity times: Populism, politicisation, and the breaking of the neoliberal consensus.” Urban Studies 62, no.1 (2025): 92-108. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980241246704.
This paper looks at how grassroots resistance against megaprojects can challenge prevailing ideologies that are focused on constant development and competition, especially during periods of austerity. Using the city of Valencia as an example, it shows how grassroots movements, despite limited resources, can offer an alternative view of a city’s urban policies and social impact.
Image Analysis:
‘
Figure 1. Silberman, Alexandre, Mohammed Rachid. PhMuseum.
The photograph referenced in Figure 1, Mohammed Rachid, captures a young man in a football jersey with a bright, bold yellow number eight on the back facing the viewer. He wears a blue disposable mask as he stands amongst a sea of blue-colored tents camped in front of an industrial wall overlaid with graffiti.[1] This photo was taken in July 2020 in Aubervilliers, a commune of Seine-Saint-Denis, and is part of a more extensive exhibition of images captured from 2019 to 2021 by Alexandre Silberman titled Differences & Repetitions- Aesthetics of Disappearance and Overlaying in Seine-Saint-Denis.[2] Featured in the PhMuseum, an online photography sharing platform, Silberman’s exhibition aimed to document Saint-Denis leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics and its associated government-sponsored infrastructure projects that targeted the site with the intent to transform it and make it habitable for visiting athletes.[3] This image directly reflects the socioeconomic and environmental challenges faced by those living in Seine-Saint-Denis before the site was cleared for Olympic Village development through its layered symbolism that can be examined through the young man, the color blue laden throughout the image, and the wall of graffiti.
The young man standing in the center with his back turned towards the viewer acts as a focal point in Alexandre Silberman’s photograph, which subsequently prompts a reflection on how he serves as a representative of his community and its resilience against the socioeconomic and environmental issues that have historically, and currently afflict the marginalized population of Seine-Saint-Denis. His positioning, specificities surrounding his attire, and inferred racial identity help to inform his importance in the overall composition of the image. Demographically, Saint-Denis has a majority Black and Arab population.[4] Although there is not any specific information provided on the young man’s race or ethnicity, he appears to be of Black or African descent, which aligns with the demographic compensation of Saint-Denis. Moreover, the jersey he sports belongs to the professional Palestinian soccer player Mohammed Rashid, emphasizing the young man’s role in Silberman’s image as an embodiment of the local inhabitants.[5]
Interest is drawn towards the Mohammed Rashid jersey not solely because it echoes the name given to the photograph by Silberman but also because it alludes to the presence of sports infrastructure in the area prior to the development projects for the 2024 Olympics. In the mid-nineties, France’s national football stadium was built in Seine-Saint-Denis with hopes to improve its living conditions by providing economic growth and employment opportunities.[6] Silberman’s photograph suggests that those aspirations were not fully fulfilled through the bright yellow number eight emblazoned on the back of the young man’s jersey. It stands out vividly against the environment’s otherwise muted blue color palette and accentuates the visibility of the community’s overlooked systemic issues such as poverty and pollution, as the area prepared for Olympic transformation. Traditionally associated with calmness and cleanliness, blue here contrasts with the community’s harsh realities.[7] Saint-Saint-Denis has higher nitrogen dioxide levels than most other neighborhoods in Paris, a statistic that is related to the area having a disproportionately larger immigrant population and lower socioeconomic status.[8] Although the blue mask the young man wears time stamps the photo, reflecting the COVID-19 pandemic, it also shows a need for protection against a polluted environment additionally marked by the crowded blue tents in the foreground of the image and the graffiti covered walls of the industrial building in the background.
Furthermore, the blue tents and graffiti infer neglect and displacement in Saint-Denis, with the graffiti being a form of resistance or protest.[9] The graffiti that Silberman captured is majorly comprised of signatures, letting a passerby know that people have claimed a part of that space.[10] It indicates local presence in a site that has long been ostracized and ignored. The image of the cartoon figure sitting in a green field with a clear blue sky painted on the wall communicates a desire for resources the community lacks, like green space and clean air. The blue tents in this image also represent temporary shelter and stress the region’s ongoing struggle with inadequate housing and infrastructure.[11] Collectively, these visual components go against what the government envisioned for a pristine, Olympic-ready district. That said, it is important to note that in Silberman’s exhibition, Mohammed Rachid is paired with another photo taken a few months later of the same site. In the latter, titled After Evacuation, the young man and the tents are cleared from the image.[12] With this in mind, the blue elements in Mohammed Rachid ominously foreshadow what the government planned to remove from the site in preparation for Olympic Village development.
Overall, the photo taken by Silberman acts as a critique of urban renewal efforts that prioritize global events over addressing the more pressing needs of local people. Through the young man, the blue tones, and the graffiti, Silberman’s photograph reveals the realities of environmental degradation and gentrification faced by the community of Seine-Saint-Denis and the government’s efforts to sanitize the area to present a cleaner, more marketable image for the Olympic Games.
[1] Alexandre Silberman, Mohammed Rachid, PhMuseum, July 2020, https://phmuseum.com/projects/differences-repetitions-aesthetics-of-disappearance-and-overlaying-in-seine-saint-denis#b-erm5ow.
[2] Alexandre Silberman, Mohammed Rachid, PhMuseum, July 2020, https://phmuseum.com/projects/differences-repetitions-aesthetics-of-disappearance-and-overlaying-in-seine-saint-denis#b-erm5ow.
[3] 1. Alexandre Silberman, Differences & Repetitions – Aesthetics of Disappearance and Overlaying in Seine-Saint-Denis,PhMuseum, accessed March 2025, https://phmuseum.com/projects/differences-repetitions-aesthetics-of-disappearance-and-overlaying-in-seine-saint-denis.
[4] Yohann Le Moigne et al, “Neither Race nor the 93 Are What You Think They Are,” Hérodote, No 162(3), https://shs.cairn.info/journal-herodote-2016-3-page-99?lang=en, VI.
[5] “Mohammed Rashid,” TNT Sports, accessed March 31, 2025, https://www.tntsports.co.uk/football/mohammed-rashid_prs517488/person.shtml?welcome=eurosport.
[6] Agnès Audier, “Seine-Saint-Denis: A French Suburb’s Quest for Employment and Inclusion,” Institut Montaigne, May 1, 2020, https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/publications/seine-saint-denis-french-suburbs-quest-employment-and-inclusion.
[7] Emily Brackett, “Color Theory: Blue as a Branding Color,” Branding Compass, January 14, 2020, https://brandingcompass.com/branding/color-theory-blue-as-a-branding-color/#:~:text=Color%20psychology:%20blue%20means%20clean,Nivea%2C%20Noxzema%20and%20Oral%20B.
[8] Tyala Ifwanga, “Environmental Racism – A French (Hi)story: Class, Race, and Air Quality in Paris,” European University Institute School of Transnational Governance, https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/76054/Ifwanga_2023_Master_STG.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, 20.
[9] “Art as Resistence,” Portland Street Art Alliance, March 15, 2017, https://www.pdxstreetart.org/articles-all/2017/1/23/resistence.
[10] “Art as Resistence,” Portland Street Art Alliance, March 15, 2017, https://www.pdxstreetart.org/articles-all/2017/1/23/resistence.
[11] Karina Piser, “‘The Social Ladder Is Broken’: Hope and Despair in the French Banlieues,” The Nation, March 21, 2018, https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-social-ladder-is-broken-hope-and-despair-in-the-french-banlieues/.
[12] Alexandre Silberman, After Evacuation, PhMuseum, September 2020, https://phmuseum.com/projects/differences-repetitions-aesthetics-of-disappearance-and-overlaying-in-seine-saint-denis#b-erm5ow.
