With this resolution passed on May 2, 1955, the Roanoke City Council declared that “slum” conditions existed in the Black neighborhood of Northeast Roanoke and approved the Commonwealth Redevelopment Project. As in other communities affected by urban renewal in Virginia, residents complained that decades of neglect and disinvestment resulted in the poor conditions. The urban renewal project destroyed 83.5 acres of homes, businesses, and churches, and displaced hundreds of residents.
PRIMARY DOCUMENT
