Capitalism is the Virus: A Public Receipt of Financialization in New Orleans 1971-2021

This thesis explores the financialization of one residential-commercial corridor in New Orleans, Louisiana. The paper illuminates the transformations of neighborhoods and social spaces wrought by processes of rapidly inflating property values and the displacement of residents. The study works in the field of applied public research by mapping New Orleans property and land records valued through the Orleans Parish Assessor’s office and linking recorded corridor changes to stated goals and partner initiatives at the city level. Taking specific umbrage with commercial corridor revitalization framework and urban street corridor mapping projects, this thesis offers a reworked lens of historical material analysis. It uses the Saint Claude Avenue corridor and the histories of some of its inhabitants to lay out a receipt of public record from the financializing operations, financial vehicles, and the subsequently related phenomena of financialization in New Orleans between 1971 and 2021