Visioning Cities and Remembering our Past
One thing AVODAH helped me realize is my love for cities. That may sound odd, but AVODAH helped me come to New Orleans, and it gave me a framework through which to see the city anew. My work at The Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement And Development, which deals largely with planning issues, has also helped to increase my interest and experience in community based models of Urban Planning and has helped me to see cities through a more regional lens.
"Learning about histories of red-lining, segregation, white flight, gentrification...these terms are far too real to me now."
What has been particularly interesting for me to learn is how intricately the history of the Urban Planner and the development of our cities is tied into oppression of people of color. Learning about histories of red-lining, segregation, white flight, gentrification…these terms are far too real to me now. What is sad, is that these terms aren’t just historical footnotes: they are living and breathing.
Unfortunately, some don’t know the history. Take for example this recent article in the Time’s Picayune from March 6, 2010 called “Treasure in Terrytown.” Here is just one gem from this article:
“From a subdivision of 6,000 homes Terrytown grew to more than 25,000 residents today. By the late 1990s, some urban ills began to creep into certain neighborhoods. Several pockets of rental housing, like those in the troubled Monterey Court area, began to become dilapidated and crime-ridden as demographics changed and absentee landlords took over.”
In other words, everyone is fine until those “urban ills” began showing up, with no mention of how Terrytown was explicitly created and zoned exclusively for white people. It was even paid for by the Federal Government under the G.I. Bill.
St. Bernard Parish, LA was founded on the idea of exclusion. While white New Orleanians had been gobbling up swamp land in the name of achieving the American Dream, moving eastward and westward away from the urban poor since the 1950’s, White Flight really kicked in post 1965 with the integration of public schools. Since its founding St. Bernard Parish has done everything in its power to exclude low income people of color, and it has redoubled its efforts post Katrina.
Those who live in ‘Da Parish,’ might disagree with me, saying, “We aren’t racist, we are just protecting our home values,” or maybe even, “So? Big Deal. What’s wrong with people sticking to their own?” Good question.
It’s wrong because segregation, forced or no, is detrimental to democracy and a healthy society.
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