A collaboration between The Ahmanson Lab and the USC Levan Institute for the Humanities, this interdisciplinary working group explored the intersection of new digital technologies and urban displacement. Drawing inspiration from Mindy Thompson Fullilove's concept of "root shock" - the traumatic uprooting of communities - it conceptualized urban displacement as a process involving forced population movement from established housing and neighborhoods, typically resulting from redevelopment processes initiated by the state, including urban renewal, freeway building, and slum clearance.
This group investigated how immersive technologies such as interactive multimedia publishing, AR, VR, and 3D modeling could help scholars recover and reconstruct displaced communities and forgotten landscapes in dynamic, sensory-rich ways.
The working group brought together researchers from various USC schools, including faculty, students, and staff in Dornsife, Cinema, Price, Architecture, and the Libraries. This interdisciplinary approach allowed for a comprehensive examination of urban displacement and the potential of digital technologies to address its challenges.