There Goes the Neighborhood

A Forum on Race, City Planning & Affordable Housing in Charlottesville

The relationship between housing injustice and racial disparities is a long-standing problem in Charlottesville. The 1960s “urban renewal” project which decimated the African American neighborhood of Vinegar Hill is a well-known instance of this painful history, which local activists have addressed for years. Since the white supremacist rallies of the 2017 Summer of Hate, more Charlottesvillians have joined the on-going struggle to challenge the historic and continuing effects of everyday white supremacy in our city. The relationship between affordable housing and racial justice is receiving greater attention in public discussions, as the residents of Friendship Court have envisioned what re-development looks like for their community, and as the Planning Commission is preparing the city’s Comprehensive Plan, to name but two examples. Individuals from these and other organizations have produced significant new work on the intersection of historic, institutionalized racism, housing, zoning and city planning. Come to this forum, and learn how we can be better neighbors to one another

Presenters and Moderators:
Matthew Gillikin: A Charlottesville Housing Reader
Jordy Yager: The Re-Imagining of Friendship Court
Brian Cameron: Housing the University
Caris Adel: Zoned Out
Bill Harris: Zoning and Land Use