Invisible Walls: Is there a relationship between zoning and crime?
Residents know outsiders describe their neighborhood as a magnet for poverty and crime and are frustrated with how hard it has been to shake that reputation.
Residents know outsiders describe their neighborhood as a magnet for poverty and crime and are frustrated with how hard it has been to shake that reputation.
The Ghalleys’ apartment sits near the top of Douglas Avenue in Manchester, just before it exits the Piscataquog neighborhood to meander through Notre Dame. A large pile of trash—the accumulated refuse from six families in a city with only two collection days a week—sits outside.
The Granite State News Collaboratives series, “Invisible Walls,” shows how two powerful forces in Manchester’s history – the Amoskeag Company and land-use zoning – help explain the city’s inequalities today, but there are also other forces at work.
Does the community want to be one of stately houses on sprawling lots? Does it want to have a bustling downtown, full of small businesses and apartments? There are no right or wrong answers, of course, which is why these questions often provoke raucous debate – and the answers communities settle on are frequently revised.
“What’s a ‘company town’?” asks America’s Library, an educational program from the Library of Congress. “In case you’re not sure, the story of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire, is a good example.”
“Unfortunately, sincere efforts to create diverse spaces [have] sometimes spurred wealthier residents to flee to suburbia. It’s not easy for planners to find the sweet spot.”
The team used Manchester as a case study. However, the same sorts of exclusionary zoning practices present in Manchester are common across the state, and likely have had similarly-broad effects, as later stories in the series will highlight.
In 2022, we experienced another unprecedented year in New Hampshire. The state dealt with the waning of the Covid 19 pandemic, the rise of inflation, pain at the pump, a contentious election, and so much more. Look back at some of the biggest stories of the year with The State We’re In host Melanie Plenda.
Editor’s note: This article is another installment of “Invisible Walls,” an ongoing joint project of the Granite State News Collaborative,
It was a brisk Thursday afternoon in January when longtime Manchester resident Carl Connor pointed to the spot where his son died.