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smeagolsfree

By smeagolsfree
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BnaBreaker City

BnaBreaker

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I know I probably came cross as a bit harsh and uncaring for the poor in my last post. I do think that ultimately neighborhood integration would be a good thing...and I think it would help with the overwhelmingly negative image of the area...but something needs to be done with the buildings themselves.

A lot of what hurts the projects is that image. It makes it difficult for anything to redevelop or gentrify nearby. Edgefield is a notable exception, but only due to it's unique housing stock. There is nothing even close to that sort of value anywhere down Lafayette. Simply put, it's a trashy area that some people are even afraid to drive through during daylight hours.

But anyways, I think the Napier projects nearby actually have a pretty cool "neighborhood" look. They are oriented to the street, and in my opinion, even attractive (for old school public housing). There's actually some potential with those (and a few others...Andrew Jackson Courts; Cheatham Place) to actually rehab what is there. Make a few aesthetic changes (but keep the mature trees), rehab the interiors, give them new windows. Yeah...I could see working with that. Excuse the phrase, but they're like a poor man's townhouse.

But these? These?? No way. The sooner they tear down these abominations the better. Replace it with some workforce housing....SOMETHING other than that. Just clean it up a bit.

I would invest in cleaning up the projects before pumping money into the surrounding neighborhood. If you leave the problem area a problem area...what is going to change? Who is going to take the financial risk to move their business to a notoriously bad neighborhood? Just throwing money at the area and saying "hey, you're a part of this, too" is a bit naive, I think.

 

I understand what you're saying, and I agree to a point.  But I guess I just feel like the city has essentially given people in this income bracket no legitimate choice on where to live other than these shoddy, poorly funded, ramshackle neighborhoods, which is degrading enough for these folks as it is.  But imagine what it might be like if the city then came in and told them that they have to get lost and find somewhere else to live, because they're going to bulldoze their entire neighborhood since they don't find it pleasing to the eye, which they had nothing to do with?  I just think that would be an incredibly irresponsible and inhumane course of action.  I think the proper course of action, challenging as it may be, is to reconnect, reintegrate, and encourage socio-economic diversity in the neighborhood by investing in it and adding to it, not to cut it off from the rest of the city even more than it already is and demolish anything that isn't aesthetically pleasing. 

 

I have done some police ride alongs with officers that were stationed in Zone 11, or the JC Napier area. Something def needs to be done there because it is awful. It felt like the movie Training Day. At the time it was one officer for that whole zone unless they had some flex support. Hermitage precinct is spread so thin that it easily would of been 10-15 min before help could of arrived. Just hearing the stories on how they use the bridge as an escape from the cops makes me want to see it demolished. It is also an easy access to sell drugs away from the projects.  Some are "banned" from being there so they can avoid any trouble by just staying on the other side. I knew it was going to be an interesting night when the first call was someone driving around with a gun out the window.

 

Hey, you know what would make them much easier to control, is if we just put a big wall around the entire neighborhood, and didn't allow them to exit without permission.  Okay, I know that's hyperbole, and I know that isn't what you were implying, but I'm saying it to make a point.  Despite how frustrating some of them can be, these are still human beings that live there, and they are Nashvillians.  They aren't a virus or a bunch of animals that should be isolated or corralled.  It might be a challenge to improve the situation there, but they deserve it just as much as people in Germantown or Sylvan Park or Rolling Mill Hill. 

 

I realize that it's easy to think that if we could only isolate the area more, then it would be increasingly difficult for them to get to where you are.  But to me, that's the reflexive response.  That's the irresponsible response.  That's the regressive response.  The attitude that 'they' should all just be isolated in some kind of pseudo human zoo so us 'normal' folk don't have to deal with them, is EXACTLY why that area developed into a troubled neighborhood to begin with. 

 

I'm not saying it would change over night, and I'm not saying it would be easy, but think about it.  It's not like being poor inherently causes people to behave badly.  It's psychological.  If we give these folks essentially no choice but to live in an isolated corner of the city that has almost no amenities or redeeming aesthetic qualities, with nobody else around except for people just like them from a demographic standpoint, I think it is being made pretty clear to those people that the rest of the city doesn't really give a rats ass about them.  I'm not trying to defend criminal activity, but how do you think people are going to behave and react to the realization that the rest of society apparently doesn't think they're worth even making an effort for?  Sometimes it's not as easy as people simply 'working themselves up by their bootstraps.'

Edited by BnaBreaker
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UTgrad09 Town

UTgrad09

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^^^

I'm not suggesting that we bulldoze all of the public housing and send these people to La Vergne...but I think we should be in the process of replacing a lot of the public/low income housing with something more updated, and something that doesn't foster such crime. Appearance means a lot these days...and the appearance of a vast neighborhood of dilapidated buildings downright scares a lot of people. Clearing and replacing some of the mess and heavily renovating the mess would give the neighborhood the "inclusion" or pride that you are talking about...but more importantly, it might help change the perception of others (along with doing some obvious things...like in this case, switching the police zone to the Central Precinct).

It's one of those "it looks like a scary place, therefore it is a scary place" things. And no, MDHA, putting colorful siding over parts of it will not change that perception.

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BnaBreaker City

BnaBreaker

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^^^

I'm not suggesting that we bulldoze all of the public housing and send these people to La Vergne...but I think we should be in the process of replacing a lot of the public/low income housing with something more updated, and something that doesn't foster such crime. Appearance means a lot these days...and the appearance of a vast neighborhood of dilapidated buildings downright scares a lot of people. Clearing and replacing some of the mess and heavily renovating the mess would give the neighborhood the "inclusion" or pride that you are talking about...but more importantly, it might help change the perception of others (along with doing some obvious things...like in this case, switching the police zone to the Central Precinct).

It's one of those "it looks like a scary place, therefore it is a scary place" things. And no, MDHA, putting colorful siding over parts of it will not change that perception.

 

Understood, and I agree.  My apologies for misunderstanding your original point and for sounding a bit brash and aggressive in my above post.  I reread it and kind of cringed at my tone, but do know that almost none of it was directed specifically at either you or bigeasy.  When it comes to issues I'm passionate about I just have a bad habit of tending to go off on tangents.  haha

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UTgrad09 Town

UTgrad09

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Understood, and I agree.  My apologies for misunderstanding your original point and for sounding a bit brash and aggressive in my above post.  I reread it and kind of cringed at my tone, but do know that almost none of it was directed specifically at either you or bigeasy.  When it comes to issues I'm passionate about I just have a bad habit of tending to go off on tangents.  haha

Sometimes when I reread my own posts, I feel like I did not articulate my points well. Or I just say something that isn't politically correct. lol

No harm, no foul. Better to have passion than apathy.

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bigeasy Burg

bigeasy

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Didn't they actually build a wall on the intersate side? Is that for noise or to cover it up? I was not trying to say they need to destroy the projects, but I just do not really see the added benefit of the bridge. I wonder how much of it is used as an access to go downtown? I guess I have not had any positive interaction in that area since it was just with the police. So they obviously do not get to see many of the good sides of the neighborhood, which is why I could never do what they do. Just in the minimal interaction on those ride alongs it was very depressing. Like you said many of them can not help the circumstances they are in, and the few bad apples in that area have transformed it into what it is.

 

I would be all for a way to fix that area, but I personally do not know of one. I guess 5-10 years ago East Nashville was the same.

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chelovek Whistle-Stop

chelovek

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I use that bridge frequently. A few of the steps on the napier side feel like they are about to fall off. It is in very bad condition and will become unsafe if some basic maintenance isn't performed soon. If I ever have the money to buy a house, it will be this one: http://goo.gl/maps/6GBxH

What a beautiful old building! Although it needs a lot of work.

 

Several of my students live in the Napier homes, including a few refugees who have been resettled there. They are good students with hardworking parents and they are as unhappy about the real and perceived safety issues in their neighborhood as anybody else in this city, but what are you going to do? Nashville's housing projects are full of kind, ambitious, honest people doing what they can to get by. Unfortunately, it only takes a few desperate or opportunistic criminals to make entire neighborhoods feel unsafe.

 

One big issue I have with our large housing projects (I live in edgehill) is that there are very few economic opportunities nearby. Before it was bulldozed and turned into a housing project, edgehill was a mixed income neighborhood full of small businesses, groceries, pharmacies, and other places where people can get a decent job and work to get ahead. Look at edgehill now, and the napier homes too for that matter- acres of strictly low income housing with very few businesses nearby. Many of my neighbors don't have a car (I don't either), so their employment options become limited to places that can be accessed with transit if you can afford a pass, or places you can get to on foot. For some people, the choice to become engaged in illegal activities is an easy one to make because there aren't a lot of legitimate alternatives around.

 

Another thing I'll say is that for all the negative activity that goes on in housing projects, at least in edgehill, there is a very tight and supportive community that is a HUGE asset and keeps everything from devolving. The fact of the matter is that its extremely rough to live at the poverty line and also try to raise kids, get an education, or work your way up in the world at your job. My neighbors help each other out because you've got to if you want to get by. Those connections are super important. In theory I think its a good idea to start looking for ways to mix incomes and land uses into our outdated housing projects, but it needs to be done in a way that doesn't disperse or destroy the relationships that already exist between neighbors. For many people in my community, these relationships are the only real wealth that we have.

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chelovek Whistle-Stop

chelovek

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when i used to live at academy square, i used to imagine what that building is like and what it could be. any idea how much it'd go for? i seem to remember a for sale sign on it before.

 

eric b

 

Not too long ago there was a banner hanging on it that said "Make Offer." Hard to say though. I bet the land is worth quite a bit.

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bigeasy Burg

bigeasy

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I use that bridge frequently. A few of the steps on the napier side feel like they are about to fall off. It is in very bad condition and will become unsafe if some basic maintenance isn't performed soon. If I ever have the money to buy a house, it will be this one: http://goo.gl/maps/6GBxH

What a beautiful old building! Although it needs a lot of work.

Anybody have an updated picture of the house next to that one? Looks like they were renovating it, and from google maps it looks really nice. So it would be really cool to see something similar to that done to the house you posted. That could be a nice block!

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smeagolsfree Gigalopolis

smeagolsfree

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Date set for MCC to open. From the NBJ

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2013/02/grand-opening-dates-for-music-city.html

 

I think we are going to see some more construction soon in SoBro and some more announcements coming soon too. Some I may know and some I am just guessing or hearing little rumors here and there. I dont want to say too much yet.

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MLBrumby Metropolis

MLBrumby

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Date set for MCC to open. From the NBJ

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2013/02/grand-opening-dates-for-music-city.html

 

I think we are going to see some more construction soon in SoBro and some more announcements coming soon too. Some I may know and some I am just guessing or hearing little rumors here and there. I dont want to say too much yet.

 

 

Anything tall?  Thanks for keeping us posted.

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