Le Jardin

Le Jardin is a fairly new suburban development located west of Atlanta. It features homes from $300,000 to over a million. There are a variety of different neighborhood within the development, each featuring a different price range and different amenities. What makes Le Jardin interesting is that the marketing focus is on wealthy, professional African Americans. I know this because I worked for the company responsible for much of the marketing and sales center design for the community. One member of the development team was Brian Jordan of the Atlanta Braves.

The fate of the African American who also aspires to be a suburbanite is much improved since the days of the suburban pioneer in the 50's and 60's, with exclusive neighborhoods such as Le Jardin being not only open to African Americans, but also directly marketed to them.

Le Jardin is also an excellent example of signage for high dollar developments. The "gatehouse" looks familiar too, no?

Avondale Savannah, GA

Streetscape of Louisianna Ave in Avondale nieghborhood and community church

Avondale is a predominately African American neighborhood located on the outer edge of Savannah city limits. Based on the built environment and recent demographic studies, Avondale’s development seems to have unfolded in line with the common characteristics described by Wiese. Avondale might be taken as a typical manifestation of an early black community established in an unincorporated area of a Southern city that expanded with the increased population of arriving or migrating African Americans. The neighborhood is working class based on the modest housing stock. Current properties for sale in this area date the houses from as early as 1900 with many structures built between 1945 and 1955 coinciding with the post WWII housing. The houses dating from the post war period look mass produced. Contrastingly, the earlier homes are more makeshift and unsymmetrical indicating owner-built structures. Lot sizes and housing setbacks vary within the blocks another characteristic of pre-WWII black community enclaves. Additionally, duplexes and single family dwellings are interspersed within a block.

The landscaping of the streets are perhaps the most immediately recognizable element that recalls a mainstream ideal of suburban environment. The yards are tidy and well maintained with subtle plantings found in many southern cities like azalea bushes and dogwoods. The lots tend to be narrow, but both multi-family and single family housing options are provided with ample front and back yards.

Older housing still on Louisianna Ave

1930s and 40s housing

1 of many Duplexes

2000 Demographics of Avondale

Population 2197 Housing Units
Male 1028 Total Housing Units 864
Female 1169 Owner Occupied Units 518
Rental Occupied Units 286
Age Distribution Vacant 60
Under 5 71
5 to 9 109 Average Home Value $55,548
10 to 14 170 Average Monthly Gross Rent $560
15 to 19 183
20 to 24 160 Poverty
25 to 34 384 Percentage below Poverty 19.70%
35 to 44 328
45 to 54 324 Unemployment Rate 7.30%
55 to 59 97
60 to 64 138 Household Income
65 to 74 112 Less than $20,000 242
75 to 84 81 $20,000- $34,999 257
85 and up 40 $35,000- $49,999 148
$50,000- $74,999 188
Race and Ethnicity $75,000- $99,999 38
White 810 $100,000- $149,999 28
African-American 1310 $150,000 or more 22
Other Races 57
Two or More 20 Average Household Income $46,490
Hispanic 18
Educational Attainment
25 Years and older
Base 1504
Less than High School 517
High School Graduate 452
Some College/ College Degree 535
Households and Type
Total Households 923 Note: Data compiled using Pcensus software. Data
Family Households 587 is compiled using Census Block boundaries which
Married Couple Households 355 do not always conform to City established
With own children under 18 86 neighborhood boundaries. Therefore population is the
No own children under 18 269 best estimate of the neighborhood's population.
Other Households 232
Other, Male householders 43 Source: 2000 Census
With own children under 18 9
No own children under 18 34
Other, Female householders 189
With own children under 18 134
No own children under 18 55
Non Family Households 336
Householder living alone 255

Map of Avondale in relation to Historic Savannah

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Avondale,+Savannah,+GA,+United+States+of+America&ie=UTF8&ll=32.053335,-81.053953&spn=0.050486,0.079393&z=14

Moving On Up to the Eastside

No, it's not a dee-luxe apartment in the sky, but for many middle and upper class blacks, "the Eastside" serves as home to many affluent majority black suburban neighborhoods. Although property values continue to be lower below LaVista Road in DeKalb County than in the areas north of LaVista, African-Americans are creating new neighborhoods that reflect the changes that are taking place in the metro Atlanta area.

I chose the neighborhood of Greenridge because it was a new subdivision off Stone Mountain-Lithonia Rd. that was not a neighborhood abandoned by whites as a result of the in-migration of blacks. It is, in the words of Andrew Weise, a "Place of Their Own." There are several communities like Greenridge springing up all over the Lithonia area.

These homes range from the mid-$600,000s to &1 million + which indicates that many African Americans can afford to live in more integrated neighborhoods, but choose to settle in their own subdivisions.



Many of the residents are from areas in the North and are taking advantage of the opportunities for growth available for African Americans in metro Atlanta. The public schools in this area are almost entirely black and are also experiencing a high rate of growth. As the African American population continues to decline in several states, the South is experiencing continued growth and these are the communities that many of these migrants are creating.



Prior to moving to Dunwoody in 2003, I lived in a community a few miles from Greenridge and one of the major differences between affluent black suburbs and affluent white suburbs is the availability of services and amenities. The basic elements are present, but if you want higher quality goods, you have to drive about 20-30 minutes to get them. I noticed that a Zaxby's was finally put up on Panola Rd. and although it's not what I call fine dining, it's a step above Church's Chicken which can be found all over the place. Despite the growing number of communities such as Greenridge, perception still shapes the market and many businesses will not locate in the area.

Curb Appeal

As I stated in class, I find the emerging element of the neighborhood sign fascinating. My interest began two summers ago as my husband and I drove around with our realtor house-shopping. It became clear, that there was a strong correlation between the size and market value of homes and the size and elaborateness of the neighborhood sign and its surrounding landscaping. My husband, realtor, and I would make jokes about not being able to afford any homes located in a neighborhood with a sign that was taller than me (I became the measuring stick of value because I was the shortest of the three.). Conversely, we knew a neighborhood was in our price range, or below, if the sign was shorter than me, if it was rustic, or if there was no sign at all.

The neighborhood signs and homes I have chosen to showcase are in the Roswell and East Cobb areas. I tried to find pairs, which included two different neighborhoods that were very close to one another (within a mile and in the same school district) to try to minimize other factors that may alter value. The first two neighborhoods, Pine Valley Estates and Victory Ridge, are across the street (Warsaw Rd. in Roswell) from one another and contain homes similar in size. As you can see the Victory Ridge sign contains intricate stonework and is surrounded by well manicured landscaping. The Pine Valley sign is very simple and the landscaping is more minimalistic (just a couple of shrubs). A Victory Ridge home, built in 1999, was on sale for an asking price of $450,000 while a similar size home in Pine Valley Estates, built in 1961, is valued at $215,000.

I know what you are thinking. Neighborhood signs are a superficial indicator of home value. The more import elements of home value include the year of its construction, the quality of its appliances and home décor, the condition of the yard and preexisting landscaping, etc. My theory is that the neighborhood sign is an indicator of all of these elements. In other words, you can discern a lot about a book by looking at its cover. I found a website titled, “How to Improve the Value of Your Home” and the author of this site encouraged homeowners to improve the look of the neighborhood sign and touch up communal landscaping around the sign and along the street. And if the neighborhood does not have a sign, the author proposes that the homeowner inspire the community to construct one immediately!

The neighborhood sign has been the calling card for neighborhoods and is now an essential element. The sign provides identity, exclusivity, and an outward indicator of value. I dare say that future plans to build neighborhoods will provide for and give special attention to the neighborhood sign.

Deerfield, Illinois

Early in 1960 in Deerfield, Illinois, a middle-class suburb of Chicago, a group of white homeowners protested the attempt by a social-crusading home builder, Morris Milgram, to build houses in their community specifically for African Americans. Angered over being used as "guinea pigs [to host] the area's first interracial suburban housing development," white homeowners from Deerfield formed a citizens group, filed lawsuits and organized mass meetings to resist Milgram's efforts. In addition to their feeling that the "the law of love" had been violated (i.e., forcing integration on an unwilling people), the white homeowners of Deerfield most feared that the new houses would bring "a flood of Negroes" and "falling property values" (House and Home 17 [Jan. 1960], 70).

In Places of Their Own (Chicago, 2004), Andrew Wiese shows that incidents like this, no less than the discourses that were invoked, were quite common. Based on the (somewhat) scientific opinions of several groups of "experts," one of the most common refrains among white suburbanites, according to Wiese, was, "that 'property values will experience a severe drop' with the arrival of black neighbors" (p. 98). Many historians have pointed out that abstract notions of race and class, with their attendant fears about racial intermixing, in the post-WWII era were inextricable linked to suburbanization. Wiese's aim, however, like the larger point of his book, is to show that racial discrimination worked not only through abstractions, politics and laws, but through space as well. Wiese brings together well-known stories about the discriminatory FHA and redlining practices with narratives about new land-use, and health and safety regulations, untoward practices by local utilities, and even rules about the type of wood that was permitted and required for subflooring. The Deerfield case illustrates that race and class were played out in contested spaces, but, like Wiese demonstrates, this didn't totally prevent African Americans from creating their own suburbs. They just had to find other ways to manipulate the system and space for their own ends.

Sign Engineering at its Best

As an ex-traffic engineer I felt compelled to offer up some intriguing signs from the business. This first sign was supposedly listed in the USA Today in a Top 10 list of stupidest signs. It is located in Okaloosa County, Florida. Basically the road approach the sign governs is a right-turn only lane onto a one-way street. Apparently they were having problems with people coming up to the light and just waiting for the light to turn green. The size and appearance of the intersection makes it look like a signal is needed.



The next sign is called "People Crossing Interstate" and is put up along the U.S. and Mexico border. I believe that makes it self explanatory.



I can't guarantee this next sign is a real one.



A friend of mine recently went to China and snapped a picture of this sign. I guess they are driving slow enough in traffic to read all that information.

Walter Aiken

Walter "Cheif" Aiken was a contractor (apprenticed in the building trades) and the leading home builder of homes for Atlanta's black elite and middle income families. Andrew Weise characterizes Aiken as like many businessmen of his age, a fervent believer in economic success as combating white racism. (p 178) Aiken was a graduate of Hampton Institute, now Hampton University, a predominately black university in Hampton, Virginia. Aiken began his career in home building in the 1920s and was one of the first Georgia builders to utilize FHA mortgage insurance. Aiken was responsible for constructing emergency war housing for African Americans near Atlanta University, a 250 unit subdivision named Fairview Terrace, and Simpson Heights. Aiken also constructed an apartment building in 1951 called the Waluhaje Hotel. The building is located on West Lake Avenue in northwest Atlanta and was later used by Clark Atlanta as an alumni center. The building now houses the headquarters for the Atlanta Job Corps Center.


(photo source - atlantatimemachine.com)

My interest in Aiken goes along with my research topic which you will hear more about next week. I am researching another home builder/designer in the Atlanta area. It appears that very little is known about these builders who were not architects by training but built and designed a vast majority of the generic buildings which make up the vernacular landscape today. They played a major role in shaping our cities and especially suburbs.

The online journal Southern Spaces contains a presentation given by Andrew Weise in 2006. The subject is African American Suburban Development in Atlanta. http://www.southernspaces.org/contents/2006/wiese/1a.htm

Weise, Andrew. African American Suburban Development in Atlanta. Real Media. Southern Spaces, 29 September 2006. http://www.southernspaces.org/contents/2006/wiese/1a.htm.

https://www.student.gsu.edu/~wtankersley2/

Go to the above link to download two resources concerning African-American residential development in Atlanta. One article is from Dana White (1982) from The Atlanta Historical Journal concerning the historic expansion of Atlanta's black neighborhoods. He also describes the effects segregation, legislated or implicit, on where black settlement concentrated. These patterns have a direct bearing on the fabric of Atlanta's current urban landscape.

The second document is a National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Nomination Form for historic African-American neighborhoods, compiled by Rolayne Venator in 1992. She references White as well as other resources concerning the historic development black communities. It provides a summary of this significant historic period and pertinent associated resources. The above map depicts the areas touched on in both documents.

Cascade Heights

In the Introduction to “Places of Their Own: African American Suburbanization in the Twentieth Century,” Andrew Wiese describes West Atlanta’s African American suburbs—“they reveal a chain of African American settlement stretching outward in time and space from the compact black neighborhoods of Jenningstown and the environs of Atlanta University, established outside the city after the Civil War, to the winding streets and opulent homes of recent subdivisions on the margins of Fulton County.” (p. 3) He argues that each new African American suburb uses the last generation’s as a foundation, a stepping stone to the next. The placement of West End, Cascade Heights, Adamsville, East Point, and College Park exhibit this pattern. This pattern of suburbanization is currently seen in the rising African American population in Clayton (51.6%), Coweta (22.6%), north Fayette (11.47%), and south Cobb (17.97%) Counties.
Wiese also talks about the community’s sense of accomplishment that comes with African American suburbanization and in turn the white population’s response. “Evoking the memory of black developers and dignitaries, the appellations recall a social history of upward mobility imprinted on the green and rolling terrain. By the same token, other landmarks—the location of parks, highways, and public housing projects, urban renewal sites, and demapped streets blocking passage between areas that were once white and those that were black—reveal the assiduous resistance with which whites met African American decentralization.” (p. 3) In 1962, the then white neighborhood of Cascade Heights reacted to African American suburbanization in what is now called the “Peyton Road Affair.” The white citizens of this neighborhood pressured the mayor of Atlanta, Ivan Allen Jr., into constructing a “2 ft. 10 in. high steel and wood barricade” on Peyton Road to block access of African American homebuyers in Collier Heights. A Time article dated Jan. 18, 1963 explains the situation, “Negro real estate brokers used blockbusting techniques to try to buy homes in the Peyton-Utoy subdivision of Cascade Heights. They falsely told white residents that their neighbors had put their homes up for sale and conspicuously drove Negro clients through the area on Sunday to frighten white owners…Since July, it has been impossible to sell a house in Peyton-Utoy to a white buyer, and white owners are panicked by the threat to their property values. Vigil Copeland, president of the Southwest Citizens Association, a group of homeowners in Cascade Heights, finally went to Mayor Allen and suggested closing off two roads that run between the Negro and white areas to prevent encroachments by Negros and act as a psychological stimulant to white buyers. Allen called in Negro leaders to discuss the possibility of erecting barriers. In return, the city would rezone 250 acres for Negro residential use. Understandably, the Negroes protested.” (“Divided City”, See Link Below.) In the end the “Atlanta wall” was declared unconstitutional by the courts and was torn down. Cascade Heights, like much of west Atlanta, is now a predominately African American neighborhood of Atlanta.
Sources:
Time Article- “Divided City” http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874660,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Heights

"A plastic and glass Shangri La..."

This post actually goes back to our readings about "drive-in culture." On the way to Madison for a field trip on Saturday, we were zipping down interstate 20 east, when I saw a perfect example of the early, car-oriented motel. Although we were unable to stop, a classmate already had pictures of the charming Conyers Inn, which she graciously allowed me to use here. 

The Conyers Inn has all of the hallmarks of these roadside havens--a highly visible sign, proximity to the interstate, parking directly in front of your "small, clean, pleasant" room.