City Center grows, but neighborhoods in rapid decline

[Bham1982]

Crazy as it may seem but in D.C. one of the hottest development, in places, was a place where almost 50 years ago it was the site of the riots.

It's hardly crazy; it's the norm in many U.S. cities.

Where did 1960's riots occur? The oldest black neighborhoods.

Where are the oldest black neighborhoods? Usually adjacent to the city core.

Where does gentrification occur? On the fringes of the core; an outward expansion of the downtown.

Where did black flight occur? In the first generation legacy neighborhoods. Kids and grandkids are in the suburbs or Atlanta now.

So what neighborhoods are currently booming the hardest? Usually downtown-adjacent older black neighborhoods such as Harlem, Bed Stuy [[NYC) Shaw, H Street [[DC) and the like. Makes perfect sense.

[emu steve]

It's hardly crazy; it's the norm in many U.S. cities.

Where did 1960's riots occur? The oldest black neighborhoods.

Where are the oldest black neighborhoods? Usually adjacent to the city core.

Where does gentrification occur? On the fringes of the core; an outward expansion of the downtown.

Where did black flight occur? In the first generation legacy neighborhoods. Kids and grandkids are in the suburbs or Atlanta now.

So what neighborhoods are currently booming the hardest? Usually downtown-adjacent older black neighborhoods such as Harlem, Bed Stuy [[NYC) Shaw, H Street [[DC) and the like. Makes perfect sense.

'1982, some of your points are generally true, but a lot of them are 'there is more to the story then you describe...'

The 1968 riots were not confined to say 14th and U. Streets N.W. and the Shaw area. I offer this quote from Wikipedia, and it sure sounds 'not to contained."

On Friday, April 5, the White House dispatched some 13,600 federal troops, including 1,750 federalized D.C. National Guard troops to assist the overwhelmed District police force.^[9] Marines mounted machine guns on the steps of the Capitol and Army troops from the 3rd Infantry guarded the White House. At one point, on April 5, rioting reached within two blocks of the White House before rioters retreated. The occupation of Washington was the largest of any American city since the Civil War.

Where non-D.C. area folks get confused is that when I came to D.C. [[1979), a few blocks from the White House were prostitution, drugs, crime, etc.

One could go say three blocks from the WH and it was a block full of strip joints; go another block or two, prostitutes. Goes a few blocks more, open air drug markets.

I believe it was mostly the 90s [[some in the 80s) that the redevelopment moved east and north of say 14th and K. Streets N.W.

1980s were pretty bad. Still. I think the 1990s was the big push forward. Folks remember that in say 1990 [[hope I got the date right), D.C. was the crack epicenter, Murder Capital, etc. etc. I believe the District was in financial trouble. District departments were being taken over via court orders.

Not, not good!!

I keep telling folks here that Detroit does NOT have a monopoly on big city, urban problems. We had drugs, crime, debt ridden government, disliked mayor, etc. etc.