Southwest DC and Urban Renewal

In the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, the common consensus among sociologists, architects, and urban planners was that the city needed to be drastically re-imagined in order to address new social concerns, such as the epidemic of urban poverty, and to address new technologies, such as the mass-availability of automobiles.

Urban renewal can be addressed in two contexts, the social and the architectural. I will begin with the social context.

One problem that was seen as central to the epidemic of urban poverty and a result of increasing slum size was loss of community. It was believed that as the population of slums increased, their populace had less and less in common, and therefore less to build a community on, as it was believed at the time that a "community" could only exist in one cultural or ethnic group.  

Southwest in 1949, a year before renewal

With this, it made sense to divide the populace of a neighborhood into exclusive groups and provide for these groups accordingly, or as well as could be expected given the social prejudices of the time.

Southwest DC was an area of extreme poverty, and was deemed so hopeless that the only remedy seemed to be redesigning it altogether. This was at the detriment of the existing residents, the vast majority of whom were African American. They were removed from their houses and social networks and many were not allowed back in. The result was a much more homogeneous neighborhood, but that does not necessarily mean that a stable community developed.

Southwest in 2012

This idea of separation was beginning to be applied to land uses as well, as advances in transportation, first with streetcars, then subways, and finally automobiles, made it possible for one to live farther from where one worked, and the idea that places of residence had to be in close proximity to places of employment was seen as antiquated.

This brings to light the architectural context. Southwest DC was redeveloped almost exclusively in the style of high Modernism, which blended well with the Utopian social ideas of the time. Modern architecture was seen as pure, and free of the ornamentation and frivolousness of the past.  

However, placing functionality and technology over usability caused issues relating to the urban fabric. Modern architecture does not give much room for public space or social gathering, creating buildings which seem bland and uninviting, and separating uses run contrary to the way cities have historically worked. Many buildings have high iron fences around them, and some houses have bars on their windows, indicating that there are still problems with crime in Southwest.

Does this want to be friends with us?

This is immediately noticeable when one examines the foot traffic in Southwest when compared to other areas of Washington. I noticed a distinct lack of pedestrians in Southwest and a plethora of cars, this was understandable, given that entrances to buildings fronted onto parking lots or driveways, and rarely onto sidewalks. An interesting note is the Modernist interpretation of a rowhouse, two story residences built wall-to-wall with each other and with driveways in the front. What they are is immediately apparent, but the fact that they would be included in the renewal is striking at first, perhaps a toung-in-cheek nod to what once was.

Recently, attempts are being taken to revisit Southwest with an eye towards usage patterns of urban areas. Most notably, the redevelopment of the Arena Stage by Bing Thom. Last year, I attended a presentation by Mr. Thom on the renovation of Arena Stage and future plans for Southwest, including discussion of the Southwest Ecodistrict, currently in planning stages. Thom noted that efforts are being considered to greatly increase pedestrian mobility around Southwest, and that these will go a long way towards improving the livability of the area.

The Arena Stage, the old structure is encased in the new shell

Despite the checkered past of Southwest, do not think that it deserves another full scale redevelopment like it had in the 1950s. It is a unique part of DC that should be made to function as well as its built environment will allow, and should serve as an example to future urban planners of how and what not to do. It can almost be thought of as successful simply due to the fact that the renewal efforts did not result in total failure and additional demolition decades after it was built.

Demolition of Pruitt Igoe. St Louis, MO.