Urban Renewal in LR

URBAN RENEWAL IN LITTLE ROCK

Some of the earliest urban renewal plans in Little Rock revolved around so-called slum areas of Little Rock. According to reporter Mort Stern, who wrote a six-part series of newspaper articles under the banner “A City and Its Slums,” areas were experiencing “blighted or slum housing” conditions. He reported the City Planning Commission, with the assistance from the City Health Department, took a survey in the fall of 1949. They used the standard working definition of slum housing:

1. Dwellings which had three or more of such basic deficiencies as too many families or building on a lot (five in each case);

2. Overcrowding of the dwelling unit (one-and-a-half persons per room or more;

3. Lack of inside toilets or toilets shared by too many persons;

4. Lack of bathing facilities or water supply or unsanitary water source;

5. Lack of sufficient windows;

6. And need of major structural repair.

The survey showed that at least one in ten Little Rock residents lived in blighted or slum housing with African Americans living in 2,818 sub-standard dwelling units and whites in 297 units. Percentage wise, that was 90/10. Nearly 1,000 units were located in the East End and Central areas of Little Rock. The East End (between the Arkansas River and Adams Field and extending past the Rock Island Railroad tracks) was reported to be the largest area of blight: 95 ½ blocks were classified as such. The Central area (west of Broadway and almost in the geographical heart of Little Rock) contained 66 blocks of slum housing. Other blighted areas reported were the South End, with 69 blocks, Granite Mountain, West Rock, and others.[1] Records showed rental incomes from the properties for most landlords returned a 25% annual profit for houses lived in by African Americans. In a string of eleven houses reserved for whites, landlords increased rent from $15 monthly to $20 monthly, representing a 33% increase. In their segregated neighborhood, 11 houses were deemed blighted. Outside hydrants provided water to all the houses.[2] These facts pointed to a problem with the owners of the property more than the tenants. It would have seemed that Little Rock’s leaders should have addressed the owners more than the tenants. It would be interesting to discover who owned the houses listed in the report.

The problem of slums in Little Rock was addressed by Ordinance No. 8163, passed by the City Council on December 19, 1949. This ordinance, under the banner of “urban renewal,” was, on its surface, a much-needed consideration of poor tenants’ health and welfare. However, when the documents are analyzed, it cannot be denied there was a need for better housing in Little Rock. However, the financial benefits of the land West Rock occupied cannot be denied either and city leaders did not hide this fact. Over and over, this is seen. The editors of the Arkansas Gazette pointed out to readers that a “proposed development east of the airport would provide 24 to 30 blocks, which could be developed for industrial purposes.” According to Jack Pickens, chairman of a new entity entitled Industries Committee of the Chamber, no “private industry could afford to undertake so large a project alone. With aid of the Little Rock Housing Authority and its right to condemn the needed land, we may hope for development of an industrial area…”[3]

The battle for votes was fierce. The Arkansas Gazette and a group entitled The Taxpayers Defense Council fired words back and forth daily in the paper. The Gazette, for Ordinance 8163, ran daily columns, and on voting day, Tuesday, May 9, 1950, ran an editorial for the measure (pictured below).

The Taxpayers Defense Council, who opposed the ordinance, ran advertisements daily urging voters to oppose the measure. (also pictured below)[4]

Would it be a stretch to consider the Housing Authority, an entity of the city, was in on the expansion of Little Rock? No, it would not since city leaders, just based on the size of Little Rock, were very familiar with each other and with future plans for Little Rock. Perhaps the most difficult part of Mr. Pickens’ statement is the reference to “its right to condemn the NEEDED land.” The houses of the so-called blighted areas were rented for years to the poor. It seems Little Rock leaders, representing the city government and the newspapers, specifically the Arkansas Gazette, turned their attention to West Rock and areas like it when they became what author Mary Douglas termed “dirt.”

Ten years later, on January 9, 1960, the city of Little Rock adopted Resolution No. 2624. This “Declaration of Policy proclaimed the urban renewal program began in 1940 was completed at a cost of $46,000,000.[5] The program, strengthened by the enactment of the National Housing Act of 1949, moved full forward with the approval of city leaders.

[1] Mort Stern,"In the City of Roses One Out of Ten Families Lives in a Crowded, Unsanitary House," Arkansas Gazette, Wednesday, May 3, 1950, front page.

[2] Mort Stern, "You Begin to Understand the Problem of the Slum Dweller When You Visit Him at Home," Arkansas Gazette, Thursday, May 4, 1950, front page.

[3] Mort Stern, “Chamber Directors Back New City Slum Clearance Program,” Arkansas Gazette, Thursday, May 4, 1950, Front page.

[4] “Will Public Housing Eliminate Poor People From Little Rock?” Advertisement, Arkansas Gazette, Thursday, May 4, 1950, page 4.

[5] Resolution No. 2624, January 19, 1960.