Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

GENTRIFICATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE URBAN POOR IN NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

Addie M. Graves
Urban Politics
December 12, 2016
 As John Teaford states in his work Rough Road to Renaissance, To most urban

leaders a better city was a physically rejuvenated city. Rather than sponsor programs that

tampered with the metropolitan social structure or that redistributed wealth and power, planners,

politicians, and the business community believed physical changes were the appropriate weapons

against blight (113).

What does Teaford mean when he says that physical changes to a city mitigate blight

within its neighborhoods? I take away from this statement, that by tearing down infrastructure

that once belonged to lower-income families and individuals, neighborhoods can push these

families and individuals out so that they may build nicer homes that more affluent families and

individual can purchase. Eventually, turning what was once a low-income neighborhood, into a

middle to upper middle-class neighborhood. Rather than supporting, as Teaford stated,

programs that tampered with the metropolitan social structure or that redistributed wealth, that

would help low-income families afford to stay in their neighborhoods, theyd rather tear them

down and build homes for the more affluent. The problem with this plan-of-action, however, is

that it doesnt help the low-income families who are already struggling to make ends meet in

American cities, and in this case, Norfolk, Virginia.

Urban renewal was a common trend in post-World War II America, and Norfolk was no

exception. According to Norfolk: Historic Southern Port written by Thomas Wertenbaker and

Marvin Schlegel, Norfolk started out as an important port city in the late 1600s when America

was under British rule; it was a major hub for merchandise and tobacco exports. Norfolk was

captured by Union forces during the American Civil War and the city was ransacked by the
Union troops, and as a result, the city was devastated in terms of population and infrastructure.

Norfolk had to start from ground-zero.

The city of Norfolk has had its ebbs and flows throughout the course of history. From

being a very prosperous New World settlement, to then being completely devastated during the

Civil War. However, during WWI and WWII, Norfolk saw tremendous growth as a Naval Port.

During these times, people looking for work flocked to the city to benefit economically and take

part in building war ships and landing craft. Low-income families who were looking for manual

labor positions or manufacturing thrived during this time of prosperity in Norfolk, Virginia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, during WWII the population of Norfolk

dramatically increased from 144,332 in 1940 to 213,513 in 1950. According to the Port of

Virginias Annual Report, in Fiscal Year 2016 (FY2016), the port has helped create over 3,600

more jobs across the state, and a study conducted by Virginia Port Authority states that the ports

in Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth has a $60.3 billion economic impact on the state's

economy. City-data states that Norfolk is, poised to compete for the number one spot as an East

Coast container port.

Poverty has plagued Norfolk, and many other similar cities, for years. After WWII, when

jobs that were created in the wake of total war were dissolved, many people lost their jobs and

eventually fell into poverty and slums were created. According to Pride and Prejudice: School

Desegregation and Urban Renewal in Norfolk, 1950-1959 written by Forrest R. White, in the

1950s, there was a push to clear the slums and to create more adequate housing for Norfolk

residents. Additionally, more redevelopment began to take place up until the late 1970s and early

1980s. Until recently, there has not been much change to the infrastructure within the city.
 Recently, there has been a push to renew Norfolk, and to bring new businesses in, and

redevelop lower socioeconomic areas and replace them with more affluent neighborhoods and

housing. But, what does this mean for those who were displaced in the wake of gentrification and

for the city in general? Replacing the homes of low-income families with more affluent homes

doesnt solve any problems for the poor, it just creates new ones. Gentrification and urban

renewal in Norfolk, rather than creating safer public housing and catering to the needs of

low-income residents, has instead pushed low-income families from one neighborhood to the

next.

Within the past year, Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a Fortune 500 company and

human resources firm, has chosen Norfolk to open a new facility in the city and create 1,800 new

jobs. This will make the Norfolk location of ADP one of the largest in the country. According to

Governor Terry McAuliffe in an article published by the Norfolk Pilot, he hopes that the new

jobs ADP creates will convince locals to stay in the area and will attract young, college graduates

to move to Norfolk to start their professional careers. This will surely benefit the Norfolk

economy, but low-income families who dont have college degrees will not benefit from this

directly. There may be a few job openings for janitorial staff or other hourly wage positions, but

other than that, ADP will only be helping the college educated.

It was of this same spirit trying to turn old into new, and create more jobs in the mid

1900s that led to Norfolk tearing down buildings and improving the roads. The city built wide,

new roads like St. Pauls Boulevard and Tidewater Drive. The two roads have large buildings

and attractive homes on both sides which creates quite the thoroughfare for travelers and

commuters alike. These large boulevards are very reminiscent of what Baron Georges-Eugene
Haussmann implemented in Paris in the late 18th century. The boulevards in Norfolk may not be

as grand as the ones that Haussmann planned for Paris, but they are reminiscent and follow in

his footsteps. Like Paris in the late 18th century is described in Paris, Capital of Modernity,

Norfolk was building roads, but in the process, knocking down the homes of lower-income

families to do so.

In addition to the large boulevards made throughout the city of Norfolk, various housing

projects including Roberts Park, Diggs Park and Bowling Park were erected in what is now

downtown Norfolk. This was all financed under the Housing act of 1949 under President

Truman. The Housing Act of 1949 paid for 80 percent of all urban renewal in American cities as

part of a revitalization effort after the second World War, and also afforded cities the rights of

eminent domain. Eminent domain is, according to the Legal Information Institute, The power of

the government to take private property and convert it into public use. The Fifth Amendment

provides that the government may only exercise this power if they provide just compensation to

the property owners.

Eminent Domain makes it easy for the government to seize land in the name of urban

renewal. The city received from the federal government in 1949 $25 million dollars to build

3,000 units of public housing. In projects beginning in 1949 and ending in 1961. According to

Alex Marshall, a journalist who specifically investigates urban planning and transportation,

wrote, The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority ripped out dozens of streets,

knocked down hundreds of buildings and evicted thousands of families from their homes.

This was a common trend in the United States at the time, and Norfolk was no exception

to the trend. Urban renewal was in theory a great plan, however, de facto, it removed and
displaced many lower-income families from their homes. In the 1960s, attorney Joe Jordan who

practiced law in Norfolk, denounced urban renewal as racist.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Norfolk tore down and rebuilt almost all of Ghent which resulted

in evicting and displacing thousands of black families. Ghent was an upscale neighborhood in

Norfolk up until World War II. According to Residential Segregation in Norfolk, Virginia: How

the Federal Government Reinforced Racial Division in a Southern City, 1914-1959 written by

Kevin Lang Ringelstein, after the war temporary housing was built there in support of war efforts

because Norfolk is a naval community, and reduced Ghent to somewhat of a glorified

shanty-town (Figure 1). After the war, these houses would be abandoned by servicemen and

deteriorate, as a result, low-income black families moved to the neighborhood of Ghent due

affordable pricing.

In 1969, the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority received a grant from the

federal government to revitalize Ghent. Almost the entirety of Ghent was bulldozed (Figure 2).

Detached homes were built in the area, however, the cost of living rose severely, displacing the

low-income, black families that once called Ghent their home. Financially, it made sense for

housing developers to bulldoze slums, and build nice, single-family homes to market towards

middle class families. Moreover, the middle-class family homes being built would generate more

tax revenue than the slums and tenements that previously existed in Ghent.

According to Elusive Equality: Desegregation and Resegregation in Norfolk's Public

Schools written by Charles Howard Ford and Jeffrey L. Littlejohn, in 1959, the Norfolk

Redevelopment and Housing Authority was approved by the federal government to begin

demolition of Atlantic City, which was a largely all-black area. However, the Norfolk
Redevelopment and Housing Authority did not plan or budget for new public housing

accommodations and plans for the displaced families. The slums were cleared, but not replaced.

As a consequence of the revitalization efforts by the government in Ghent and Atlantic

City, residents were displaced and moved to different areas of Norfolk. Many opted not to move

much farther, but rather move into the neighboring division called East Ghent. The homes in the

area of East Ghent, as in the old section of Ghent, had declined during the wartime like they had

previously, however it experienced a much more increased density. This deterioration, in

combination with the fact that East Ghent was also an all-black community, fueled white

migration from Old Ghent to suburbs further outside of the neighborhood.

Soon, though, according to Courtney Wimberly, who published an extensive paper

through the University of Virginia: School of Architecture in 2007, East Ghent began to conflict

with Ghent, in that East Ghent homes could be seen from those in Ghent, and residents

complained about this to the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Wimberly also

wrote, In order to begin the fight against blight in Ghent, the city issued a new minimum

housing code. The residents were responsible for making the necessary updates to their homes to

meet the new minimum standards. Some of the updates the housing authority required of

residents were to add hot water heaters to every dwelling in East Ghent, and to add protective

coatings to the exterior of the house in order to prevent deterioration.

It took a while for the Spot-Blight bill, as it was nick-named, to be passed, but in 1964

it was approved by the Senate and over 200 homes would be bulldozed because certain

beautification standards werent met. However, the homes were not owned by the tenants but

rather the landlords. In a recent interview conducted by Courtney Wimberly with Barbara Case, a
former East Ghent resident, she admits that the houses in East Ghent were in need of some

repairs, and that the landlords were unwilling to provide maintenance. Since the houses were

required to meet certain standards, they were slated to be demolished if the landlords didnt

provide what the houses needed to pass inspection from the housing authority. When asked what

the reasoning behind the demolition of her neighborhood, Barbara Case said, It was a racial

thing.

The relationship between tenants and landlords and the city is a precarious one, and its

demonstrated well in Evicted by Matthew Desmond. Throughout the book, there are feuds

between the tenants and landlords in regard to maintenance issues, however, in most cases, the

landlord never responded or pushed off the task to a later date knowing that he or she will never

get to it, or that the family will be evicted by then; it happens frequently in Norfolk.

When you visit the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authoritys website and search

for assisted-rental housing a fair amount comes up, but theyre all located in neighborhoods

notorious for crime. Interestingly, as you can see in Figure 3, there are no assisted-rental housing

choices in Ghent itself. However, surrounding Ghent there are multiple. Which is contradictory

to what research has to say. According to To Help Poor Neighborhoods, Urban Planners Have

to Do More Than Urban Planning an article written by William Fulton, director of the Kinder

Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, ...poor people living among more affluent folks

generally do better. But theres probably no way to move all people of modest means to affluent

suburbs -- and its really hard to encourage affluent folks to move into a poor neighborhood

without starting a cycle of gentrification.

 If the research shows that integrating low-income neighborhoods with affluent

neighborhoods is better off for both parties, then why cant people accept that and make it

reality? In The Uses of Disorder: Personal Identity & City Life written by Richard Sennett, he

explains that people of affluence are comfortable with what their affluence affords them:

security, order and minimal divergent contact points throughout the day. In the minds of most of

those who come from affluence or are affluent, being surrounded by people who are similar to

them is comfortable and familiar theres no need for change. Unless the entire culture within

the United States shifts to being a more inclusive, understanding and helping one, then

low-income families will continue to suffer and be shifted out of their neighborhoods in the

name of gentrification and affluence.

According to Gentrification and Socioeconomic Impacts of Neighborhood Integration

and Diversification in Atlanta, Georgia written by Ebenezer O. Aka, Jr., ...cultural diversity is

recognized as one of the key factors that inspires and increases the migration of upper-income

groups to inner-city neighborhoods. The reason gentrification takes place is because the wealthy

and middle-class realize the need for cultural diversity for themselves and their families, so they

move into lower-income neighborhoods that have history and slowly push the low-income

families out to the periphery.

Studies show that children who are exposed to culture and diversity at a young age grow

up to be more understanding and tolerant adults, and studies also contend that low-income and

at-risk children that surround themselves with affluence have a better chance of succeeding in

school. According to the Virginia Department of Education, Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) has

the lowest percentage of high school graduates (Figure 4), 73.6 percent, in the Hampton Roads
area which consists of seven cities. 64.4 percent of Norfolk students were eligible for free and

reduced lunch for the 2010-2011 school year. This correlates with Norfolk having the 2nd

highest poverty rate in the Hampton Roads area, according to American Community Survey

2010 Poverty Rate Estimates for Norfolk

Gentrification has lasting effects on adults, but even more so in childrens education and

livelihood post-adolescence. According to a crime report by The Virginian Pilot, there were 67

active gangs in Norfolk as of 2008, some had members as young as nine years old. With limited

access to after-school activities and safe places like playgrounds or parks children and

adolescents in Norfolk are drawn to gangs for the camaraderie and protection. According to

There Goes the Neighborhood: Exposing the Relationship Between Gentrification and

Incarceration written by Casey Kellogg, Social disorganization theory would suggest that

crime flourishes in urban areas where there is inadequate social control (Wilcox, Quesenberry,

Cabrera & Jones, 2004), potentially as a result of disinvestment by government and private

industry (183). Kellogg also contends that gentrification leads to a lack of understanding

around existing cultural behaviors and norms to formerly urban areas (184).

More recently, in a subdivision in Norfolk called East Beach, gentrification has reared its

head yet again. East Beach is a neighborhood in Ocean View, a coastal region in Norfolk. Ocean

View has as long as Jordan Lett has known it, has been a dangerous place. Lett has lived in

Norfolk since the early 1990s, and has seen it transform, but not necessarily for the better. Lett

stated in an interview with me in early December 2016, There are break-ins down at Ocean

View all the time. Growing up, my car was broken into countless times and Ive witness dozens

of crimes myself when Ive been there. Its not a safe place. This is the common rhetoric
surrounding Ocean View. I worked at Ocean View over the summer of 2016 and witnessed

prostitution, drug deals and thefts regularly. Its a sad phenomenon that plagues many

low-income neighborhoods in cities across America. Gentrification helps the wealthy and

middle-class, but reduces low-income residence to the periphery and crime-stricken

neighborhoods. According to a book titled, Accountability and Radical Change in Public

Organizations written by Ronald R. Sims, ...as homes and apartments have fallen into

disrepair, Ocean View fell victim to an increasing crime rate.

In the 1990s, the city spent millions of dollars to tear down 1,600 buildings in Ocean

View which forced hundreds of low-income families out of their homes. The city chose to build

an upscale, beach neighborhood in its place. But what happened to the families and individuals

who were displaced after the city bulldozed their homes in the name of urban renewal? They

either became homeless or moved further into Ocean View. Outside of the East Beach

community of Ocean View, there are extremely high prostitution and drug usage rates.

Norfolk, Virginia is one of the thousands of cities in the United States facing

gentrification and its negative effects on low-income families. Im not as naive to think that

people should stop redeveloping areas that have become dilapidated due to age and crime;

however, I do think that instead of redeveloping areas and using eminent domain as a means to

relocate low-income families to the periphery, the government and city government should make

a conscious effort to integrate the low-income families into the new developments by building

rent-assisted housing options along with single-family homes. If research suggests that its

mutually beneficial for both middle class and lower-income families to intermix, why not listen?
If the city council and the mayor of Norfolk push for change, Norfolk can be the American

example of mutually beneficial urban renewal.

 Figures

Figure 1, East Ghent Community Playground being bulldozed (The Virginian Pilot)

Figure 2, Ghent bulldozed 1970s (The Virginian Pilot)

Figure 3, Red circle represents Ghent, blue squares represent assisted housing, (NHRA)

Figure 4, (Virginia Department of Education)

 Bibliography

1) Aka, Ebenezer, Jr. "Gentrification and Socioeconomic Impacts of Neighborhood

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NORFOLK." Www.norfolk.gov. 2010. Accessed December 11, 2016.

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