The Sharp Leadenhall Project: Countering Gentrification

"We know, I know, that things have to change, and I'm all for a
new economy, but my belief is that you can't put historical in if you're
takin' it out." This quote, from a recently displaced long time resident of
the neighborhood of Sharp Leadenhall in Baltimore City, is emblematic of the
current tensions Black residents are experiencing as their historic
community deals with the processes of gentrification. The city of Baltimore
has experienced rapid housing development in its urban core in recent years.
While beneficial in many respects, this expansion has also signaled a number
of problems for established urban residents (Sieber 1991). Gentrification
is a tumultuous process whereby urban neighborhoods and housing are restored
and refurbished, usually in conjunction with changing demographics and an
influx of new residents. Much of this development is the acquisition, or
clearing, of dilapidated housing stock for rehabilitation with the goal of
increasing market value. Gentrification, in this sense is primarily seen as
a class based movement and perceived as a means of reducing social problems
that plague urban areas while increasing real estate prices and boosting
local tax revenues.

Alternatively, many see gentrification as a process of displacement for primarily Black community residents, such as established
renters and older homeowners, who historically define certain urban
neighborhoods and are unable to afford new housing prices or taxes
introduced through this trend (Williams 1988). Thus, gentrification
disrupts and dissolves communities and is often perceived as racial in
nature due to the demographic makeup of most areas confronting its effects
(Gregory 1993). Once change is described as gentrification, it initiates a
number of conceptual dilemmas and debates for politicians, planners,
developers, established residents, new residents and other stakeholders
(Hartigan 1999). Gentrification is having a significant impact on the
neighborhood and residents of Sharp Leadenhall. This historic Black
community has been pressured for more than half a century by social,
political and economic forces that have reduced its size and population
(Reddy 2007). As is the case with many other cities in the United States,
Baltimore has not only systematically denied African American neighborhoods
of capital, but has in addition removed any authority residents may have
once had to define their own communities (Maskovsky 2006). In response to
this, a number of grass roots community organizations and activists have
worked toward keeping their community intact in the face of change.
In 1967, the City of Baltimore created a condemnation line literally through
the center of Sharp Leadenhall for proposed interstate construction. The
racial scenario that surrounded this development is similar to others
throughout the northeastern United States where Black communities are
labeled as socially aberrant to justify processes of urban renewal (Smith
1996). At the time of this ordinance in 1967, 3,500 residents lived in
Sharp Leadenhall. As the city continued to buy up housing in anticipation
of the highway, Sharp Leadenhall?s residents, who were primarily
economically disadvantaged African Americans, had little choice but to
accept the prices they were given and relocate. As a result of the
condemnation line, a large number of inhabited row houses were purchased and
torn down, displacing approximately 3,000 residents. At present, Sharp
Leadenhall remains an island in a rising tide of high priced real estate.
Many of the communities primarily Black, working and middle-class population
of about 800, some who can trace their roots in the neighborhood back
several generations, can not afford to remain.
Utilizing methods from both urban (Low 1996) and visual anthropology
(Pink 2001), I have been conducting ethnographic research with undergraduate
student colleagues since the fall of 2006 focusing on current activist
efforts around housing issues in Sharp Leadenhall. Undergraduates at Towson
University are typically from suburban areas of Baltimore (and Maryland) who
have largely been the consumers of problematic representations of Baltimore
neighborhoods. Now, with the opportunity to conduct ethnographic research,
they are co-producing more nuanced images and coming away from the
experience with a more complex picture of life in Baltimore city. Primary
fieldwork has focused on documenting the history of the neighborhood through
the collection of life histories of remaining and recently displaced
residents. In addition, archival research has produced a number of sources,
photos and other materials documenting the historical and current conditions
of the community. A strong emphasis has also been placed on the capacity of
research and academic outputs to provide resources to the community being
studied.
Over the past 2 years of fieldwork, we have collected statistical
data, engaged participant observation in a variety of settings in the
community, and conducted life history interviews with residents, developers,
politicians and a variety of other actors. While these are typical methods
for anthropological research, unique to this project is its participatory
nature, infusion of humanities and use of technology. Collaborative
community videography and photography is a well-established and productive
methodology applied in a variety of fields (Pink 2001). This method has
been productively utilized in the larger research project as residents have
been active collaborators in both the production of short videos and photo
essays. These edited videos and photographs have been donated to a local
community group in Sharp Leadenhall to be used alongside collected archival materials for use in a planned web-based historical archive and museum.