Downtown Fargo: Stakeholder Struggles and the Crisis ofldentity
Abstract
This research sought to discover the social impact of demographic, aesthetic, and economic
neighborhood restructuring in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. In-depth interviews were
conducted with 19 cultural, economic, and practical community stakeholders, comprised of
downtown Fargo residents, business owners, and community service providers. Their
narratives are used to explore how spatial and economic change has been perceived, as well
as how similarities and differences between economic, cultural, and practical stakeholders
have shaped their perceptions of the neighborhood. This research discovers that downtown
stakeholders actively manage the social identity of their community by accentuating
speci fie aspects of the neighborhood, creating an idyllic origin story for the neighborhood
and an anti-suburban character for the space. The similarities and differences between
participants' community perceptions stem from the different roles they play in the
community, and issues of power and marginalization are tied to the process of economic
neighborhood revival. Contributions to scholarly literature on community development,
urban sociology, space-based theorizing, and an expansion of stakeholder theory is
discussed. The process of community restructuring in downtown Fargo has entailed a
redistribution of cultural and economic power, and the narratives given about this
community are found to be both a source of social marginalization and potential political
action and empowennent.