Citizens gather to protect NW Roanoke from another urban renewal project
By Freeda Cathcart, Mothers Out Front, Roanoke Team Coordinator
Community leaders and members gathered outside the Roanoke Municipal building Monday morning, December 11, to express concerns that Northwest Roanoke might be the victim of another urban renewal project if the city allows commercial development of Evans Spring. Over a hundred acres of undeveloped land border Interstate 581 across from Valley View Mall contain Evans Spring and the Lick Run Greenway. This is the third time Roanoke City is considering developing the area.
Theresa Gill-Walker is involved in the neighborhood organizations bordering Evans Spring. She said, “Her neighbors are frustrated to be going through this again after the planning commission had determined in 2020 that going through with commercial development would take away the integrity of the neighborhood. Many were affected by urban renewal and are afraid that it will happen again. They do not trust the city.”
Root shock by Dr. Fullilove describes the profound traumatic stress- the “root shock” that resulted when Roanoke demolished neighborhoods in previous urban renewal projects. Carolyn Hubbard lived that experience with her family in Northeast Roanoke. When she was around 15 years old she saw skeletons from the classroom when the city bulldozed the graveyard. The caskets were open and destroyed. Hubbard said “I was devastated.” She explained how her parents had been forced to sell their home for less than it was worth and then had to buy a more expensive home elsewhere. They also lost their connections to their neighborhood community.
The consultants that the city hired to do community engagement to determine if the community was open to the development were accused of “manufactured consent” when the survey didn’t even include a no development option. After that option was included the conclusion of their study was the community didn’t want their neighborhoods to be burdened by the additional traffic, noise and pollution from development, but they were open to having the land developed into a natural, recreational amenity.
Even though Hubbard doesn’t live in Northwest Roanoke, she’s concerned that others may suffer the pain of root shock just as her family had previously. She also spoke about how urban renewal destroyed Black businesses and churches too. Hubbard responded to the possibility of commercial development of Evans Spring that, “It’s a sign of urban renewal all over again just in a different way.”
Hunter Hartley Esq., a graduate of the Howard University School of Law, cited Roanoke City’s website that admits the harms of urban renewal in the past continue to negatively affect NW Roanoke today:
“More and more research is showing that the hottest neighborhoods today are the same neighborhoods once redlined under racially discriminatory home lending practices in the mid-1900s. These neighborhoods often remain lower income and communities of color, with fewer trees and open spaces, exposing residents who need to walk or use public transportation to dangerous heat. In Roanoke specifically, the heat island study done by CAPA found that previously redlined communities have air temperatures that are 7 – 10 degrees F hotter than non-redlined areas in the City.“
Hartley said, “So not only are Roanoke’s poorest communities saddled with higher energy bills to stay cool, if they even have air conditioning, but they suffer more physically from the heat and pollutants that result. There is also a link between excessive heat and increased gun violence. The gun violence problem that plagues Roanoke City should not be viewed as isolated from these troubling historic and present day patterns.”
Downstream from Evans Spring is the Lick Run Community Development Corporation whose partners are working on healing the community from urban renewal. They own a farm to provide access to fresh vegetables in the surrounding food desert and have a community building for meetings. Their land and building is already at risk of flooding and would be at greater risk if Evans Spring is commercially developed.
The Friends of Evans Spring is an citizen-led organization working to educate the public about the opportunity to preserve Evans Spring as a natural recreational amenity that would provide flood resiliency to protect the businesses downstream including downtown Roanoke. They have an online petition that people can sign to support their efforts: https://tinyurl.com/SaveEvansSpring and they invite people to join them to work to preserve this valuable land for future generations.
Brenda Hale, the President of the Roanoke Branch of the NAACP, pointed to the sign across the street declaring Roanoke City as being a seven times All America City and the importance of upholding that reputation. She urged the Roanoke City Council not to allow the destruction of Evans Spring. Hale said, “Do not let Evans Spring be destroyed because you can never reverse the effects of concreting over natural wetlands. It will be detrimental to this community.”
People who don’t want Roanoke City to implement another urban renewal project by commercially developing Evans Spring can sign this petition at: https://tinyurl.com/NoUrbanRenewal.
