K. Diedrick and C. A. Le Dantec. Out of the Shadow of the Dome: Atlanta’s Westside residents challenge the rules of sport mega-development, Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal 2(1):54–68. November 2017.

Abstract

We describe findings from a five-year participatory action research collaboration in predominantly African-American Atlanta neighbourhoods. The historic communities with whom we worked are located next to the 1992 Georgia Dome and the 2017 Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Drawing on interviews and participant observations, we outline the emergence of novel forms of ‘activist play’ that were mobilised to challenge the development of the 2017 stadium. This paper offers examples of local efforts to resist sport mega-development projects in the US South, where contemporary systems of development and displacement emulate the historical and global patterns of colonial infringement.