Heather: Assignment 10

When a house remains unoccupied between owners a sense of transition develops. However long term vacancy leads to decay and a sense of abandonment. In America's cities decay has become a feature of the urban landscape. Unoccupied buildings lead to needed repairs not being made and buildings vulnerable to illegal activities such as vandalism. One such building was found in Vine City. This house sits on a hill behind Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd along a strip of commercial properties. This section of Vine City, and Vine City in general, give those travelling through it a sense of hope for the future of the buildings in a sense of limbo between productive use and and abandonment. Almost all of the other houses along this same street have been revitalized and are in good condition. The difference from house to house is quite astounding. This house is the first seen upon turning off of MLK Blvd. One almost has an expectation for all others following to look similarly. However the house sitting next to it has been revitalized and landscaped, as most of the others have. These homes give a sense of community and family to the neighborhood that this house does not seem to promote. This loop of use and disuse is quite common in America's landscape. These houses at one point served as homes to prosperous residents of Atlanta, only to be abandoned made evident by the decay still found with some of these buildings. Revitalization began in 2004, thanks to the prodding of many of Atlanta's prominent citizens aiming to make Vine City an example of community revitalization. The recession however seems to have kept some homes from receiving the revitalization found by many of the others.



Europeans do not see decay and ruins as something aesthetically displeasing, but as something to be appreciated. However Americans have a sense of embarrassment when it comes to decay and destruction of the built environment. I found myself being very American about this house. As I drove through the rest of the neighborhood I thought how people living in the neighborhood probably found this structure an embarrassment. I attempted to find a sense of beauty in what I have always found "ugly." When I did this I could find elements of the decayed house quite beautiful. The vines and plants twisting their way up the side of the house and front porch have an interesting aesthetic and somewhat poetic quality to them.


Nothing is permanent, not even the American landscape. Time can be a big factor in this impermanence. The houses built for the influential members of society become the buildings used by the poor several generations later, all to be repeated again. That is if America's love of youth doesn't lead to the removal of an old structure to be replaced by a new, shiny building. With the revitalization found in this neighborhood I believe and hope this building will in the future not just be a decaying house but a home, just like so many others like it in the neighborhood.