Urban Renovation

Our neighborhood is changing before our very eyes. We live in the west end of the Houston Heights, a area that is currently "hot" since it's close to downtown. Since Houston traffic is what it is (at a total standstill) many people are willing to pay a premium to escape gridlock. Our section, which in the days of segregation was the only section of of the Heights where African Americans were allowed to live is last to experience a building boom. Most of the homes are very small and range from needing a coat of paint to needing to be torn down. Years and years of absentee landlords and benign neglect have taken their toll.

We bought our lot 7 years ago. This was and still is the view from our front porch.

7 years ago all the houses on the street were in similar if not worse condition. Now our street looks like this.


There is still lots of substandard housing

but more and more blocks are looking like this:





But the neighborhood still hasn't totally flipped, the stores within walking distance cater to the original inhabitants.


And shopping carts are still abandoned beside the bus stops, as carless residents shuffle their groceries homeward.