Understanding America: Post-industrial Cities A New Haven Case Study October 24, 2017 OISS Understanding America Speaker Series Peter Crumlish, Executive Director & General Secretary

Revelation 21:16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[a] in length, and as wide and high as it is long.

History of New Haven and Yale The New Haven area was the home of the Quinnipiac tribe of Native Americans before the arrival of Europeans. In 1637 Puritans began settling in New Haven in search of creating theological community. Land was “purchased” from the Quinnipiac tribe shortly after. Yale was founded in 1701 in nearby Saybrook, CT as the Collegiate School to educate students for “Publick employment both in Church and Civil State.” Yale University moved to New Haven in 1716.

Factors Influencing Location Industry Availability of raw materials Availability of Labor Proximity to Markets Transportation Facilities Availability (and proximity) of power

New Haven’s First Industrialists Eli Whitney (1765-1825): Cotton Gin, arms manufacturing Simeon North (1765-1852): milling, interchangeable parts Elisha Cheney: clocks, brasswork

New Haven’s First Industrialists Textiles Silverware Sewing machines Carriages Clocks and watches Firearms and ammunition

New Haven’s Economic Growth During the Civil War, the local economy was boosted with wartime purchases, especially arms and ammunition The influx of southern European immigrants doubled the population of the city by the start of the 20th century. Industry continued to thrive during the World Wars

New Haven after WWII After World War II, industries began to leave Northeastern cities like New Haven After World War II, African Americans from the American South and Puerto Ricans migrated to the city in search of manufacturing jobs Much of the white middle-class left New Haven for the suburbs From 1953 to 1958 the Urban Renewal Program in New Haven cleared “slums” to create highways and civic resources like hospitals and museums, creating isolated communities in public housing and segregated neighborhoods

Factors Affecting Urban Decline “Redlining”: National Housing Act of 1934

Factors Affecting Urban Decline “Redlining”: National Housing Act of 1934 “Blockbusting”

Factors Affecting Urban Decline “Redlining”: National Housing Act of 1934 “Blockbusting” GI Bill

Factors Affecting Urban Decline “Redlining”: National Housing Act of 1934 “Blockbusting” GI Bill Speculative Lenders

Urban Renewal Mayor Dick Lee (1954 - 1968) New Haven as the “Model City”

Neighborhoods / Project Areas As this New Haven Redevelopment Agency map illustrates, during the 1950s and 1960s, nearly every neighborhood in New Haven became a redevelopment “project area.”

Oak Street Neighborhood c. 1950

Route 34 c. 1960

A Tale of Two Connecticuts New Haven Population 3,574,097 129,779 Homeownership Rate (%) 69.5% 31.6% Per Capita Income $36,468 $21,789 Median Household Income $66,906 $38,963 Persons Below Poverty Level (%) 9.3% 25.2%

2008 Honda Civic LX Sedan – Tax Due 8/1/15 Kelley Blue Book Value, 75K miles, Very Good condition: $9,306 70% Market Value Tax Assessment: $6,514 Greenwich, CT (10.969 mill rate): $71.45 New Haven, CT (41.55 mill rate): $270.66 Hamden, CT (39.93 mill rate): $260.10 Milford, CT (27.22 mill rate): $177.31 Hartford, CT (74.29 mill rate): $483.93

2010 Honda Civic LX Sedan – Tax Due 8/1/16 Kelley Blue Book Value, 75K miles, Very Good condition: $9,306 70% Market Value Tax Assessment: $6,514 Greenwich, CT (11.271 mill rate): $73.42 New Haven, CT (41.55 mill rate, 32 mill cap): $208.45 Hamden, CT (40.87 mill rate, 32 mill cap): $208.45 Milford, CT (27.88 mill rate): $181.61 Hartford, CT (74.29 mill rate, 32 mill rate): $208.45

New Haven Public Schools 20,759 students enrolled Asian American 1.24% African American 54.82% Hispanic 30.95% Indian American 0.05% White 11.08% Other 1.86% In 2015 there were 42,428 Black residents and 40,866 White residents in New Haven.

Final Words of Inspiration

Final Words of Inspiration “…there are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted [to].... I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to segregation and discrimination. I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry. I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism, to self‐defeating effects of physical violence….” The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)

Thank You! Any questions?