Thank you for writing this! I recently came across a photo book about the Loft Law and its few remaining beneficiaries but I had not thought about that, until now, as just one example of this phenomenon you describe about artists and where they live and work. Thank you for connecting the dots for me!
Thank you, Katherine! This is such helpful context for understanding Asheville's current situation. I will share widely, and look forward to the next essay in the series!
This is important reporting. The two greatest climate disasters in Nashville to date are the May 1995 F4 tornado that put blue tarps over all of East Nashville's old housing stock and the May 2010 flood, in which the Cumberland River flowed into downtown and neighborhoods west of the city. The recovery from the tornado, fueled by home insurance payments, transformed racially diverse East Nashville into a monoculture of million-dollar homes and $200-a-plate restaurants. Change accelerated post-flood, in the greatest boom the city has witnessed. Hotels and apartments have flown out of the ground in downtown. A $2.2 billion football stadium is under construction. And, by 2015, newspapers were writing about the death of the middle-class music economy. Last year, a progressive mayoral candidate was overwhelmingly elected on the campaign theme of "I want you to stay." Artists make communities go. We lose them at our peril.
Thank you for writing this! I recently came across a photo book about the Loft Law and its few remaining beneficiaries but I had not thought about that, until now, as just one example of this phenomenon you describe about artists and where they live and work. Thank you for connecting the dots for me!
Thank you for this!
Thank you, Katherine! This is such helpful context for understanding Asheville's current situation. I will share widely, and look forward to the next essay in the series!
This is important reporting. The two greatest climate disasters in Nashville to date are the May 1995 F4 tornado that put blue tarps over all of East Nashville's old housing stock and the May 2010 flood, in which the Cumberland River flowed into downtown and neighborhoods west of the city. The recovery from the tornado, fueled by home insurance payments, transformed racially diverse East Nashville into a monoculture of million-dollar homes and $200-a-plate restaurants. Change accelerated post-flood, in the greatest boom the city has witnessed. Hotels and apartments have flown out of the ground in downtown. A $2.2 billion football stadium is under construction. And, by 2015, newspapers were writing about the death of the middle-class music economy. Last year, a progressive mayoral candidate was overwhelmingly elected on the campaign theme of "I want you to stay." Artists make communities go. We lose them at our peril.