Can renewal happen without removal? Case study of a poor black neighborhood on the rebound

Abstract

During the latter half of the twentieth century, many inner city neighborhoods with majority black/African American populations fell into decline, neglect, and crime. East Russell, an inner city neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky, was no different. It was ranked as one of the most dangerous and impoverished neighborhoods in the USA. In 1992, with no previous precedent, community leaders wanted “renewal” without population displacement. Currently, scholars question if “renewal” can happen without removal. We examine the East Russell case to better understand this possibility. Utilizing data from the Jefferson County Property Valuation Administration, the US Census Bureau, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and a recent neighborhood charrette, we examine the conditions of the neighborhood from 1992 to 2012. We find that the efforts of the revitalization did have some successes: 575 housing units were renovated, homeownership increased, property valuations increased, crime rates declined sharply, single automobile usage fell, foreclosures were among the lowest in the city, and employment increased. While revitalization brought benefits, there are still issues that need to be addressed. Our findings contribute to the current debate that this type of place-based policy is possible without population dispersal.

Keywords:

• urban renewal
• revitalization
• community development

Acknowledgements

The renewal of East Russell started with funding in 1992 from US Department of Education’s “Urban Service Grant” and later with funding from US Department of Housing and Urban Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, University of Louisville’s Kentucky Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development, and University of Louisville’s Department of Urban and Public Affairs. The charrette was sponsored by funding from the Telesis Corporation in Washington D.C. which wanted to explore ways to develop and build on the success of this nearly all black community development effort. Since 1992, SUN has been a partner with Telesis in its efforts to renew housing and neighborhoods for the working poor. The authors thank their respective institutions for their support. A number of individuals have recognized the efforts of East Russell. Martin Luther King III and many other local church leader endorsed this model of neighborhood rehabilitation. The one major dissenter of this model was the late Anne Braden, a self-appointed civil rights advocate, who did not join the effort to renew East Russell (Gilderbloom and Mullins, 2005; Fosl, 2006). Finally, we give a note of gratitude to the late Donald Terner who served as an advisor to HANDS starting in 1992 and was so impressed with its design and vision that he called it a model for other poor neighborhoods around the world to follow (Gilderbloom and Mullins, 2005). In 1994, Donald participated in the first Presidential mission to South Africa where he spoke with President Mandela and urged him to avoid building high rise housing but instead look at the human scale community development model of East Russell.

Notes

1. HANDS name was changed to SUN in 1996.

2. Due to page limitations we are unable to include photos of the East Russell renewal. However, we have made them available online at sun.louisville.edu.

3. HUD (2014) defines empowerment zones as, “Empowerment Zones (EZs) are designated areas of high poverty and unemployment that benefit from tax incentives provided to businesses in the boundaries of the EZ.”

4. A charrette is a meeting of stakeholders attempting to identify and resolve issues and map solutions.

5. These data were unavailable at the tract level. The data concerning the East Russell neighborhood were provided by a previous report conducted by SUN.

6. Shotguns are narrow one-story dwellings without halls. Each room is placed behind the other in single file.