Community Mitigation and Enhancement: Crest Street, Durham, North Carolina, 2

Community Impact Mitigation

Case Studies - May 1998

Community Impact Mitigration and Enhancement: Durham, North Carolina

The Crest Street Neighborhood
At first, many doubted that the Crest Street Neighborhood could have the quality of "cohesiveness." By appearances alone, the neighborhood looked severely distressed. To casual observers, the neighborhood seemed to have little physical value, and probably represented an opportunity for what was referred to informally in the 1960s as "slum clearance." During the EIS process, sociological studies were commissioned to show the community's cohesion, and they did so, resoundingly. However, statistics and surveys can reveal only so much. The cohesiveness of Crest Street was reflected in the daily interaction between people. They lived as though they were all related (but not all were), looking after each other's children, borrowing and lending items, and sharing emotional good times and bad--a community where all the residents know and cared about each other.

The Crest Street neighborhood was formed in the decades immediately following the Civil War. Originally, it was an area of small subsistence farms on the outskirts of Durham. In the 1920s and 1930s, the construction of Duke University generated jobs that were filled by many Crest Street residents and stimulated the growth of the community. Crest Street is located within a mile of Duke University and its University Medical Center. The residents of Crest Street attained a modest but stable standard of living over a period of time, filling a need for laborers, food service workers, housekeepers, and grounds maintenance workers; and farming part time on open parcels of land in the vicinity. By the 1970s, the neighborhood included over 200 households.

Prior to the 1960s, the Crest Street neighborhood had only one paved road. Other streets were later paved minimally, without sidewalks. The housing stock, which had never been substantial, began to deteriorate steadily when plans for the highway became known, and obtaining mortgages or funding for housing improvements became difficult. Community businesses that had served residents for years began to move away in anticipation of relocation.

However, to those who looked beneath the exterior, Crest Street was, in fact, a strong community. Despite limited material wealth, residents seemed content with their lives. Sociological surveys showed that the Crest Street neighborhood exhibited several characteristics of a highly cohesive community (see sidebar). Most of the residents had relatives in the neighborhood, and many families had been in the neighborhood for generations. The presence of extended family and close friends enabled Crest Street residents to survive quite well in a low-wage environment (40 percent of the households were under the Federal poverty limit). Residents provided child-care and transportation to one another, cooperated during times of need, and participated freely in neighborhood improvement activities, such as periodic community clean-up days. These informal, social-support systems provided access to jobs for people who otherwise might have been dependent upon unemployment compensation of welfare. They also allowed elderly and disabled residents to live in their own houses and near their families, thereby avoiding the substantial expense of State-financed, long-term-care facilities.

Crest Street: A Cohesive Community in Durham, NC

Average Residence in the Community: 36.5 years (10.1 years for tenants); 30 percent have lived there 50 years or over.

Relatives in the Community: 65 percent of the residents had at least one relative in the community; nearly 56 percent had five or more.

High Degree of Job Stability: Mean length of employment at job was more than 8 years.

Local Employment: 44.3 percent of the work force works within a mile of the community.

Perception of Physical Safety: 90 percent considered the neighborhood safe; no complaints about the community's minors.

Source: Friedman, Elizabeth, Crest Street: A Family/Community Impact Statement, Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs, Duke University, 1978.

Two other characteristics of the Crest Street neighborhood also deserved special note: the presence of a strong church and the continuity of its leadership. The New Bethel Baptist Church, to which nearly two-thirds of Crest Street's residents belonged, was founded in the 1880s and, over time, became the focus of community activities. In the 1960s and 1970s, the church was providing many services, such as day-care, tutoring, and was serving as the organizational focus for political activities.

The Crest Street Community Council, the group the handled most negotiations concerning the East-West Expressway project, was an outgrowth of the church organization. The leaders of Crest Street, who organized the opposition to the East-West Expressway, were long-term residents who occupied prominent positions in the community. The outstanding characteristics of these leaders are, in hindsight, strong indicators of community cohesion: they remained in their community leadership roles throughout the long and complex negotiation process, obtained a strong community consensus on project issues, and remain in leadership positions to this day. This type of "staying power" is one of the key indicators of a community with a high degree of cohesiveness.

Community Impact Mitigation
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Federal Highway Administration

The Crest Street Neighborhood At first, many doubted that the Crest Street Neighborhood could have the quality of "cohesiveness." By appearances alone, the neighborhood looked severely distressed. To casual observers, the neighborhood seemed to have little physical value, and probably represented an opportunity for what was referred to informally in the 1960s as "slum clearance." During the EIS process, sociological studies were commissioned to show the community's cohesion, and they did so, resoundingly. However, statistics and surveys can reveal only so much. The cohesiveness of Crest Street was reflected in the daily interaction between people. They lived as though they were all related (but not all were), looking after each other's children, borrowing and lending items, and sharing emotional good times and bad--a community where all the residents know and cared about each other. The Crest Street neighborhood was formed in the decades immediately following the Civil War. Originally, it was an area of small subsistence farms on the outskirts of Durham. In the 1920s and 1930s, the construction of Duke University generated jobs that were filled by many Crest Street residents and stimulated the growth of the community. Crest Street is located within a mile of Duke University and its University Medical Center. The residents of Crest Street attained a modest but stable standard of living over a period of time, filling a need for laborers, food service workers, housekeepers, and grounds maintenance workers; and farming part time on open parcels of land in the vicinity. By the 1970s, the neighborhood included over 200 households.
Prior to the 1960s, the Crest Street neighborhood had only one paved road. Other streets were later paved minimally, without sidewalks. The housing stock, which had never been substantial, began to deteriorate steadily when plans for the highway became known, and obtaining mortgages or funding for housing improvements became difficult. Community businesses that had served residents for years began to move away in anticipation of relocation. However, to those who looked beneath the exterior, Crest Street was, in fact, a strong community. Despite limited material wealth, residents seemed content with their lives. Sociological surveys showed that the Crest Street neighborhood exhibited several characteristics of a highly cohesive community (see sidebar). Most of the residents had relatives in the neighborhood, and many families had been in the neighborhood for generations. The presence of extended family and close friends enabled Crest Street residents to survive quite well in a low-wage environment (40 percent of the households were under the Federal poverty limit). Residents provided child-care and transportation to one another, cooperated during times of need, and participated freely in neighborhood improvement activities, such as periodic community clean-up days. These informal, social-support systems provided access to jobs for people who otherwise might have been dependent upon unemployment compensation of welfare. They also allowed elderly and disabled residents to live in their own houses and near their families, thereby avoiding the substantial expense of State-financed, long-term-care facilities.			Crest Street: A Cohesive Community in Durham, NC Average Residence in the Community: 36.5 years (10.1 years for tenants); 30 percent have lived there 50 years or over. Relatives in the Community: 65 percent of the residents had at least one relative in the community; nearly 56 percent had five or more. High Degree of Job Stability: Mean length of employment at job was more than 8 years. Local Employment: 44.3 percent of the work force works within a mile of the community. Perception of Physical Safety: 90 percent considered the neighborhood safe; no complaints about the community's minors. Source: Friedman, Elizabeth, Crest Street: A Family/Community Impact Statement, Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs, Duke University, 1978.
Two other characteristics of the Crest Street neighborhood also deserved special note: the presence of a strong church and the continuity of its leadership. The New Bethel Baptist Church, to which nearly two-thirds of Crest Street's residents belonged, was founded in the 1880s and, over time, became the focus of community activities. In the 1960s and 1970s, the church was providing many services, such as day-care, tutoring, and was serving as the organizational focus for political activities. The Crest Street Community Council, the group the handled most negotiations concerning the East-West Expressway project, was an outgrowth of the church organization. The leaders of Crest Street, who organized the opposition to the East-West Expressway, were long-term residents who occupied prominent positions in the community. The outstanding characteristics of these leaders are, in hindsight, strong indicators of community cohesion: they remained in their community leadership roles throughout the long and complex negotiation process, obtained a strong community consensus on project issues, and remain in leadership positions to this day. This type of "staying power" is one of the key indicators of a community with a high degree of cohesiveness.

Community Impact Mitigation

Crest Street: A Cohesive Community in Durham, NC

Source: Friedman, Elizabeth, Crest Street: A Family/Community Impact Statement, Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs, Duke University, 1978.