(Dis)location: Black Exodus

On Redevelopment - Ariana Allensworth

Gentrification is far too confining a term to define what happened to what was once Northern California’s core neighborhood for African-American entertainment and culture. In 1948, the area was declared blighted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Soon after, the land and many of its homes and businesses were seized and demolished by city developers over the course of a 40-year redevelopment project. Urban renewal, although labeled as a means of reviving the existing neighborhood, forever uprooted the economic and ethnic makeup of the district. It is estimated that in total, 883 businesses were forced to close, 4,729 households were relocated, and roughly 2,500 Victorian homes were demolished.1
       The legacies of urban renewal continue to inform and shape public policies in San Francisco and the Bay Area region at large by providing advantages that benefit the upper class, while leaving poor communities and communities of color behind. Black people are continuing to leave San Francisco at unprecedented rates. San Francisco’s Black population decreases every year. Census estimates show the population dropped from 96,000 in 1970 to 51,000 in 2006.2 The story of the Western Addition demonstrates how racialized housing injustice is embedded in San Francisco history. Although San Francisco Redevelopment Agency left the Western Addition in 2008, its legacies will never be forgotten. An analysis of how and where the legacies of urban renewal persist is critical.

Endnotes
1 Fulbright, Leslie. “Sad Chapter in Western Addition History Ending.” San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 2008: B-1
2 McCormick, Erin. “Bayview Revitalization Comes With Huge Price to Black Residents.” San Francisco Chronicle, May 14, 2008: A-1
3 Fulbright, Leslie. “Sad Chapter in Western Addition History Ending.” SFGate, San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 9, 2012, here.

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