The West Side Flats Displacement Report
Sixty years ago, West Siders were forcibly displaced from a neighborhood called the West Side Flats– but they didn’t just lose their homes. The financial, environmental, health, and cultural impacts of the displacement continue to shape our neighborhood today.
The West Side Flats Displacement Report is a groundbreaking study of the impact that the forced removal of over 2,000 people from their homes in our neighborhood. The report was commissioned by WSCO and researched and written by Research in Action.
Read the full report (85 pages)
Read the executive summary (12 pages)
Strengthening community through engaged research
The West Side Flats Displacement Research Project is an in-depth research project that seeks to understand and document the many forms of injustice that took place when West Siders were forced from their homes.
“How many families were not fairly compensated for their homes?” Asks Monica Bravo, Executive Director at WSCO. “What opportunities for generational wealth building were cut short? What was the cultural cost of dispersing one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods? Who benefited from this displacement? How will future development in our neighborhood avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, and work towards truly equitable opportunities for all West Siders?”
To answer these questions, WSCO is partnering with Research in Action, a local Black, queer led urban research, strategy, coaching and engagement firm founded by Dr. Brittany Lewis. The findings from this research will guide WSCO's From the Flats to the Future campaign to seek justice for our neighborhood.
In the news
- Current, former residents of St. Paul’s West Side Flats call for redress for historical displacement – Pioneer Press
- Families uprooted from St. Paul's West Side seek redress from the government – Star Tribune
Check out our page, WSCO in the news, for more coverage of our work!
Learn more
Click here to learn more about the history of the West Side Flats, explore portrait and interview gallery, and connect with our campaign From the Flats to the Future!
See the 1961 list of people displaced from the Flats