Increasing Uncertainty in Vine City, Atlanta

This paper will present a history of the changingurban fabric of Vine City, Atlanta, noting connectionsto larger political and economic changes inthe city. It will extend an understanding of how localchange, tied to unpredictable forces outside ofany neighborhood, could be embraced as an architecturalstrategy of increasing uncertainty.Vine City is an historic African-American neighborhoodin Atlanta with a strong local identity. Amongits many cultural assets are nearby Spelman andMorehouse Colleges, Clark Atlanta University andWashington Park, the first park in Atlanta open toAfrican-Americans. This neighborhood of large treesand distinct houses is punctuated with landmarksbut also with shuttered properties and vacant lots.78% of housing units are renter-occupied, andhouse values are almost a third of the value in therest of Atlanta.1 This poverty is long-standing.

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Ikhlas Sabouni & Jorge Vanegas