S T O R I E S from W E S T H A V E N Architectural Illustrations of a Public Housing Site in Charlottesville, Virginia Anna Cai | UVa School of Architecture, BS Arch Thesis 2016
Discovery Heritage Water Garden Health Intervention
Discovery
K Ju ly 20 15 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5 Summertime in Westhaven. Growing For Change recieves Growing for Changes goes “Let’s not forget the University’s funding from the Dalai Lama door to door. Community day in position in redevelopment. Look at fellowship Met Joy Johnson. November the history. They owe us.“ photo by S.Bingham Conversations with Shantell NOMAS gets matched with Bingham about Westhaven + the Tibbs family. redevelopment D ec e mb e r 201 5 NOMA conference and design competition in New Orleans Lectures and workshops on public housing in the U.S. Janua r y 20 16 and critical public interest design in new waves of redevelopment Co-designing for a garden with the Joy invites me to PHAR Research about co-design and history of Westhaven and Tibbs family begins. Executive Board Meeting. My first Monday night PHAR public housing in Cville. board meeting at the Legal 1st pitch of thesis project. Aid Justice Center Introduction to the sinkhole narrative. Brandon Collins s introduces bill for Plan for n i Redevelopment. g e b h c Sketching the site. r a s e Met Sarad Davenport e and City of Promise R “After getting up, I’d turn the bedroom light on and wak barefoot to go to the bath- “It’s funny because in the room and I’d try to make sure learning process, there might that I didn’t step on a worm. be something you don’t They were everywhere. You wanna do, but it sticks. And Apr il 2 0 1 6 could stand there and watch so I started planting flowers in them wiggle through the my yard and everybody liked door. “ it.” March 2016 Ms. Joy on Ms. Connie on growing up in living with the Jamaica sinkhole Growing for Change Grow Day. Visited Neighborhood Painted vertical garden with Development Services at City Hall the Tibbs kids: Shafik, for aerial photos of Vinegar Hill Fendia, Nana, and Rae. demolition. Conversations about Walk through of sinkhole + drain redevelopment politics with Interviewed Joy about life in Met and interviewed age problems with Brandon. Westhaven and gardens. Pam Murray, Mary Joy Scala, Ms. Connie. Met Dee dee, Tiffany, and Rich- and Kathy Mchugh. ard Shackleford. PHAR Intern Graduation. Met Dr. Harris, the co-author of “Public Hous- ing in Charlottesville: The Black Expe- rience in a Small Southern City” and former faculty member of the Urban 1st Charlottesville Redevelopment Planning Department Housing Authority meeting at City Hall. Attended to find Ms. Joy. Public grievances voices in audience of fellow residents and CRHA board Met Holly Edwards . and city council members HOW IS THIS THESIS A PIECE OF YOU?
Key Players Public Housing Association of Stor Residents [PHAR] Charlottesville Public Housing s n n o i l s l o n C h n o J o d y o n J a r B director. organizer. Joy is also a resident of Brandon is a writer on Westhaven in the units PHAR’s bill for Redevel- most affected by the opment which is a proac- drainage issues. Joy tive deal for the city’s introduced me to the plans for public housing. urgent issue of the sink- He also gave me a walk- hole and PHAR’s long through of the site itself. past with CRHA and remains a main contact for site data Growing For Change City of Promise m t r a o h p g n n e i v B a D l l e d t n a a r a h S S founder of initiative aiming to head of City of Promise. bridge the gap between UVA Promise Neighborhoods is students and residents of a Department of Educa- Westhaven. It combines Archi- tion-funded program tecture and Global Development designed to create net- students with families in works of support services Westhaven to co-design gardens for kids in underserved communities. Board of Commissioners Westhaven Nursing Clinic s d r a s w e n d o E J y e l l i o l u H J Holly formerly served on city Chair of the Board of Commis- council. She currently sioners. The Board is appoint- serves as an advisor for ed by city council to govern the PHAR and also runs the Charlottesville Housing Authori- Westhaven Nursing Clinic. ty. I met her at the PHAR Intern Her perspective is crucial in Graduation but first encoun- any matters of deelopment tered her at a publc meeting in Westhaven with the board at City Hall.
Heritage
Erasure + Formation Since the 1920’s, Vinegar Hill is the city’s principal black business district and Vinegar Hill into Westhaven vibrant center for community life. The story of the demolition of this neighborhood is deeply embedded in the story of public housing in the city today. 1963 The Neighborhood was named after an ex-slave named John West who was born into slavery and later amassed a fortune in real estate. standard substandard Westhaven is planned. Vinegar Hill is evaluated. CRHA is authorized by the U.S. Department of Housing and 1. Expand the Downtown Business District. Urban Development. Their application to City Council for the 2. Improve traffic. clearing of substandard housing is complete. 3. Provide housing for displaced families.
DEMOLITION 1964 By March 1965, the following were wiped out : 1 church 30 businesses 158 families (140 black families) The building that housed George Inge’s grocery store still remains at an entrance point between West Main Street and Vinegar Hill.
1970 1970 Census 15.5 % Non-White Population 126 units are completed in Westhaven, becoming The Southeast underpass the first public housing emerges as a critical 12.7 % Non-White Occupancy in development in threshold between Public Housing Charlottesville. past + present. Vinegar Hill was an “image of blacks in business...blacks in decision-making positions .” -Sherman R. White, former black newspaper editor
Cultural Threshold Heritage Trail Connection James B. Holt Rock House Jackson P. Burley School Booker T. Washington Park Charlottesville Twelve Marker- Venable High School John West marker The Historical Corner The Lawn Charlottesville Twelve Marker- Lane High School Westhaven Community Jack T. Rouette Tavern Jefferson School J.F. Bell Funeral County Home Confederate Courthouse Vinegar Hill Memorial First Baptist Church Historic District Court Square Court Square Historic Inge’s Grocery Store Downtown Mall Daughters of Zion Cemetery Charlottesville Historical Markers African American Historical markers
Water
Water Flows The topography of Westhaven is a critical factor to the wellbeing of residents. The parking lots and rooftops of business located on the top of the hill at the south end of the neighborhood accumulate From Impermeable Surface water that is then dumped into the footprint of the units. Summer Storm Average rainfall per month 4,546,177 gallons total 888,037 1,627,152 gallons gallons 673,038 parking gallons 132,358 Republic Plaza gallons 242,938 84,734 gallons 12,251 gallons parking gallons 667,355 parking gallons Cville Classic Cars Clinic + Recreation Center Basketball court Sweethaus Bakery Ms. Connie’s parking 218,314 house gallons Ms. Joy’s underpass house Asiana Grill We s t Ma in S t Hard y D r . 1 0 t h S t Pai g e St . N
Water Flows Due to bureaucratic issues in the Charlottesville Housing Authority, the consequences of issues of topography and water have not been met with resolution. Therefore residents are forced to accomo- Consequences date the conditions of water invading their space. Transportation Barrier The sinkhole barricades foot traffic from the nearest bus stop in front of Republic Plaza on West Main Street. Saftey Concerns The sinkhole is located adjacent to the playground and basketball court, places that kids inevitably run to. Ms. Connie’s house Clinic + Recreation Center Poor Air Quality Excess moisture from sinkhole Ms. Joy’s house and water from underground stream pour into swale on corner site. Units most affected by moisture serve as housing “Unusable” Land: for the elderly + disabled. Excess moisture from sinkhole Underpass and water from underground stream pour into swale on corner site.
Water Breach Ms. Connie lives in unit 802. Originally from Wytheville,VA, she moved to Westhaven over a decade ago to recieve cancer treatment from UVA hospital. On top of this, she suffers daily from respiratory issues insti- of Ms. Connie’s Back Wall gated by the moisture issues from the sinkhole. Defense Intrusion Stormwater runoff seeps Ms. Connie adapts to the through the crack of Ms. moisture seepage by jam- Connie’s back door during ming the bottom crack of a summer storm. She her backdoor with a towel wakes up with worms and moisture spread across her floor. + + Ms. Connie keeps the win- Moisture seeps up through dows shut to ward off addi- the ground and into the tional mold that coats the concrete foundation. It set- screens and back patio. tles and creates mold spores in the air. n i n e o C . s Pipe Talk M Pipes for units intersect in Ms. Connie’s bedroom. The rush of water tells her what her neighbors are up to.
Gardens
Recommend
More recommend
