The artists within the property conflict
Art Districts, Creative Clusters, Innovation Centers and other Special Economic Zones have become one of the central topics in the city branding and activation of the post-industrial economy since the mid-20th century. The creative class and human capital as a whole became the object of cities` competition, or at least is perceived as a catalyst for new industries, followed by new services, and a new competitive economy. In order to remind about the subjectivity of this “object” and the interests of the creative class, it is important to understand the backside of the growth - what the urban economic development gives to this community in return. Let's see what practice says about the creative class and the pain of growth - and what the literature recommends.
Reedy River Falls, Greenville, SC
In the words of Barry Nocks, Professor Emeritus teaching several classes in the Clemson Department of City and Regional Planning, cities have two types of pains - pains of growth and pains of decline. A rather simple idea unfolded intricately in the context of a hands-on studio in Greenville, South Carolina that we worked on under his supervision. A small city next to the Reedy river waterfalls has long been known as the “Textile Capital of the World”, thanks to its affordable water, energy, and … cotton. Today, with other types of industries and a reputation of Green city, it is one of the state's fastest growing economies and an attractive place for its environment and location near the Blue Ridge mountains - popular tourist destination. Known for its lively program and creative community, the city is actively developing its brand of a compact and cozy weekend tourism place with vibrant street festivals.
The goal of our Studio was to develop sustainability recommendations for the emerging Art District in the Village of West Greenville - a neighborhood historically shaped around the textile industry with its brick factories, warehouses, and low-rise urban environment. Decayed during the Great Depression and completely out of function after the NAFTA treaty, the factory buildings and the district as a whole turned into an ideal space for the creative class. Accessible infrastructure and transport - the area is located along the highway turning into a major street - low taxes, and the picturesque green areas of the Reedy River Valley created the fertile soil. The first art studios began to appear in the 2000s, today services on the first floors work as prescribed by new urbanists, and the economic potential of the developing - but still affordable area - magnetically attracts developers. All this takes place in the context of the general economic growth trends in the Carolinas - as a result of the post-COVID redistribution of priorities, increased attention to the environment, interest in living in nature, and constant demand for housing. In general - there is an active growth.
The key trigger for this assignment was the conflict of local communities over the mixed development “Woven” project. It seemed that the owners of the plots falling under development are satisfied with the proposed terms of the transaction, local entrepreneurs received a guaranteed influx of visitors for years to come, and the developer himself, familiar with and respectful of the context, offers studios-incubators and exhibition spaces with reduced tax rates in the first floors - supporting the art community. But one after another, public hearings fail and the project cannot get final permission and move to a construction stage. Small communities repeatedly accuse the developers and the city of ignoring their interests - and the future irrevocable changes in the area as a result of the project. Using the popular term Gentrification as the cause of all subsequent problems, residents fight with the developer and its commercial interests in the area where they have lived for generations. At the center of their struggle is the historical character of the place, and if you listen to criticism, the established way of life.
The developer - a young businessman working in a consortium with local philanthropists and local historians - is making another chunk of changes to the project, bringing it into line with the architectural context. But residents' arguments are going in circles - worsening traffic jams, excessive traffic, and rising housing costs render frightening pictures of the future life in the Village. Fear of being forced out of the area as a result of its popularity actually stops any development. Explaining to us their long attempts to negotiate, a group of entrepreneurs blames NIMBYism (for Not In MY Backyard) and the lack of understanding among the communities of what Gentrification actually is.
For the first time, the term Gentrification (gentry - the social class of gentlemen in Great Britain) was introduced by the sociologist Ruth Glass back in 1964, explaining the post-industrial process of displacement of the working class from the central regions by the middle class, etc. The process was actually known since the Roman Empire records. These are natural, although dramatic effects of growth, and their negative expression mostly endowed in connection with the classics of New Urbanism, the work of the journalist Jane Jacobs, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” (1961). Although the term was not applied to those processes that remake the fabric of the city, Jane criticized the big corporations and the modernist approach to urban redevelopment, drawing attention to the importance of the historic environment, mid-rise and mixed development, and human scale. While having a huge impact in further development of the urban environment ideas, her work has also created popular misconceptions. Thus, low-rise districts would start emerging in place of “slums” believed to be shaping the behavior of citizens, while displacement of the old uses and communities due to the movement of capital became widely perceived as an evil that must be fought by all means.
At the center of the fight against Gentrification and NIMBYism - that is, the refusal to change any existing and familiar environment - lies Campbell's Property Conflict. Scott Campbell explained the dynamics of sustainable development in cities with his triangular model in the 90-s and revised its applicability in 2016. Three vertices - environmental, economic, and social pillars of sustainable urban development, also standing for “green city, growing city, fair city” - are in a dynamic balance regulated by the sides of the triangle - resources, development and property conflicts. Urban communities establish civic institutions to manage conflicts towards sustainable development. However, Campbell points out that they are all inevitable parts of the growth process. And the approaches he recommends to minimize the loss of emerging contradictions are as dynamic and flexible as the nature of sustainable development. Adaptation based on existing practices - instead of a radical reshaping of the economy and space, and the acceptance of “managed tensions” as a guarantee of healthy growth - these are the main conclusions of his work.
The Planner s Triangle Revisited, Scott Campbell
Going back to the Village of West Greenville - and the future Art District - the issue over which the conflict has unfolded is rather showing reliable signs of growth, with the corresponding pains. Our work on recommendations was more of a social than an architectural and planning in nature, as the built environment itself does not solve all the problems (sorry, Jane :). The conflict is resolved when there is a transition from large models to a specific community, and when the dialogue is being established - one way or another. It is complex and resource-demanding, and it is uneasy to take people into account on the scale of a master plan and territorial strategy. But through words (which may not even carry meaning on their own), the deep and real problems of a community gradually unfold, and those are worth answering. As with attention to detail, real growth begins - based on intrinsic resources, and the Woven project get to be actually woven in the context. After all, when art communities have a voice, that is, the belief that they are not just a magic wand, but an equal part of the process. This means the displacement from the area (at best) can become a free choice, and the fight can terminate to concentrate the forces on creativity.
Sources:
Scott D. Campbell (2016) The Planner's Triangle Revisited: Sustainability and the Evolution of a Planning Ideal That Can't Stand Still, Journal of the American Planning Association, 82:4, 388-397, DOI: 10.1080/01944363.2016.1214080
Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Random House.
Glass R, 1964, Aspects of Change, in Centre for Urban Studies (ed) London: Aspects of Change (MacGibbon and Kee, London).
Greenville Journal, ‘Woven’ could be the first major development in the Village of West Greenville, June 23, 2022.
Clemson CRP, The Village of West Greenville Art District Strategy. 2022
