Death of Affordable Housing - Franklin Circle

Here, we can see in the background a view of the Lakeview Terrace, one of the three buildings first approved as public housing developments in US, built in the 1930s to house immigrants and bring them out of abject poverty. This building has long been regarded as a landmark, and was visited by First Lady Eleanore Roosevelt upon completion. Lakeview Terrace had the first community center in a public housing project and utilized decorative arts, a first in public housing as well.

In the foreground we can see a new development, The Dexter, in which a 1,086 square foot apartment starts at $2,599 per month. You’ll notice the Shoreway dividing one neighborhood from the other; highways are one of many ways infrastructure has historically been used to segregate Black neighborhoods, during redlining and beyond. With just a 3 minute drive between the two locations, it’s easy to see how development priorities have shifted, from the promise of affordable housing, to the reality of housing as a commodity in Cleveland today.