Findings

The most industrialized areas are the most neglected, and the most industrialized areas are historically predominantly African American.

So far we’ve seen that South Norfolk and Camelot boroughs have the lowest median income, highest level of poverty per citizen, largest Industrialized areas, and the largest population of black citizens. These trends are both a historical and a present problem that has had little change.

Land use is often ignored and thought of as “it’s just the way it is”. When in actuality there is a reason for these areas having been used for farms, industry, or commerce and why certain races and or income disparities exist. Historically the Norfolk/South Norfolk areas have been good for shipping up and down the James River and therefore are ideal for industry and textiles. Historically most land owners were white and so settled in agricultural areas. Areas where jobs were available would often be the more industrialized areas such as Camelot and South Norfolk, which are highly industrialized areas. Since most African Americans were not land owners themselves most likely took jobs in factories and industry in that area. Sadly as history has shown us they were paid low wages and lived in areas directly near the factories. The trend we’ve seen in the maps shown has continued today and the City of Chesapeake has continued to show these two specific areas little in the lines of economic development. This analysis of my data is by no means an excuse for the City, however it does point out a depressing and systematic trend locally and nationally.