Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Urban Renewal, Gentrification and Food Insecurity in Asheville’s Southside Neighborhood
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Asheville, North Carolina is well known as a city packed with fantastic restaurants and local food in the Appalachian region of North Carolina. Yet in this land of apparent abundance, many of its citizens lack consistent, healthy food sources to sustain their lives. Understanding the root causes of this paradox is a major impetus behind this visual ethnographic project. The project focuses on a traditionally African American neighborhood called Southside in Asheville, which underwent significant redevelopment when an urban renewal project was carried out in the neighborhood in the 1970s. Prior to urban renewal, the neighborhood boasted 7 grocery stores. Today it is classified as a food desert. The central inquiry of this research is exploring the long-term impacts of urban renewal on long-time and new residents of Southside, seeking to understand their evolving sense of place as Southside transitions into a new period of gentrification today and their relationship with food as a result of living in a food desert. The research was conducted through interviews with residents and observations of the community while working on various community projects relating to local food access and sustainability issues. This project provides a new understanding of the long-term impacts of urban renewal on the individual lives of residents of the Southside community as they experience daily life within a food desert while simultaneously expanding ideas of Appalachia to include urban and African American realities.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Erin Daniell is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Asheville with degrees in Art and Anthropology.
Urban Renewal, Gentrification and Food Insecurity in Asheville’s Southside Neighborhood
Asheville, North Carolina is well known as a city packed with fantastic restaurants and local food in the Appalachian region of North Carolina. Yet in this land of apparent abundance, many of its citizens lack consistent, healthy food sources to sustain their lives. Understanding the root causes of this paradox is a major impetus behind this visual ethnographic project. The project focuses on a traditionally African American neighborhood called Southside in Asheville, which underwent significant redevelopment when an urban renewal project was carried out in the neighborhood in the 1970s. Prior to urban renewal, the neighborhood boasted 7 grocery stores. Today it is classified as a food desert. The central inquiry of this research is exploring the long-term impacts of urban renewal on long-time and new residents of Southside, seeking to understand their evolving sense of place as Southside transitions into a new period of gentrification today and their relationship with food as a result of living in a food desert. The research was conducted through interviews with residents and observations of the community while working on various community projects relating to local food access and sustainability issues. This project provides a new understanding of the long-term impacts of urban renewal on the individual lives of residents of the Southside community as they experience daily life within a food desert while simultaneously expanding ideas of Appalachia to include urban and African American realities.
