Lorton - Loose Space and Common Areas in my Neighborhood

Looking through my neighborhood of Lorton, Virginia, I realized there are so many open spaces that are considered common areas and loose space.  I took pictures all along my route from my home to the GMU campus.

Lorton, Virginia Neighborhood

Starting at hwy 638 on Pohick Road, I drove north to Lorton Station Road then south until I reached Lorton Road (hwy 642). I took a right turn and I drove west until I reached Furnace Road then north on Ox Road (hwy 123) to GMU campus in Fairfax.  Along the way I took these photos of my neighborhood to show the open, loose and common areas.

Heading south on Lorton Station road between apartment complex is a dead end street.

The 3 pictures above is the area in my neighborhood which doubles as the parking lot for the VRE Commuter train but on the weekends in the spring to fall is the local Farmer's Market.  All the cars are gone and the vendors take over here.

On Lorton Station Rd. the area from the fences to the road is all loose space.

A common area located at the entrance of The Metropolitan, luxury apartments in my neighborhood.  During the spring you can see many families just sitting here and talking.

At the intersection of I-95 and Lorton Road, you can see the popular clock tower.  The area surrounding the clock tower is open, loose space.  

This picture is the entrance to Laurel Hill park which is a common area that used to be the location of the Lorton Correctional Facility since 1910 but has now been acquired by Fairfax County and turned into a local park with bike trails, fishing pond, Frisbee Golf Course, Playground and entrance to the CCT trails.

Across the street from the Laurel Park is the remains of the Lorton Correctional Facility that is behind a chain link fence.  The following picture shows the prison.

Watch Tower at the corner of the Lorton Correctional Facility.

Old Barracks on the Lorton Correctional Facility grounds

Photo of the open area as I traveled west on Lorton Rd heading to Furnace Road.

Barrett House is an old abandoned house on the edge of the Lorton Correctional Facility grounds.  This area is a common area as people can come and park in the adjacent parking to the house overlooking the grounds of the prison.

Driving towards the Nike Missile site on the right.

The entire area on the right is the location of the site where the Nike Missile were set up during the Cold War.

Entire location of the Lorton Nike Missile Site.

The following 4 pictures show the old abandoned buildings from the now closed Lorton Correctional Facility.  These buildings stand on the corner of Furnace and Hooes Road just a block away from Ox Road.  They are not in use.

These are a few of the many loose, open and common areas in my neighborhood.  As my neighborhood is in transition after the closing of the Lorton Correctional Facility, many changes occur rapidly.  Since the land from the correctional facility are being redistributed into common areas, I believe these old building will be utilized for something in the near future.

The Closing of a Prison

     In Lorton, Virginia stood the Lorton Correctional Facility that housed the prisoners from the Washington District of Columbia.  It opened in 1916 and officially closed in 2001.  This prison over took 3600+ acres of the Village of Lorton.  There was not many homes in the area and the majority of the population was on the grounds of the Correctional facility.  Ten years after the opening of the prison, overpopulation of prisoner began as it reached the height of 12,000 prisoners.  In 1995 a provision began to close the prison due to overcrowding, increase crime inside the prison, massive drug usage inside the prison and the disatisfaction of the local residents.  The prison did not officially close until 2001, when the last of the prisoners left for other penitentiary through out the country.  With the movement of the prisoners, massive growth began in the area.

     New Urbanism has sprung up countless neighborhoods and an 55 and over living community.  The old prison grounds has sparked growth in golf courses, parks, trail ways, new apartments and a high school.  The old prison building were salvaged and turned into a Art Workshop which houses many art and crafts activities.  This redevelopment increased the community open spaces in the neighborhood and has prospered ever since.  I believe gentrification did happen when the closing of the prison took place.  With the forced movement of the prisoners, it caused the demographics to shift drastically.  There were 80% minorities when the prison was operational to 80% white when the prison closed.
The land was restructured and sold to investors and builders who developed housing communities and schools.  The area has continued to grow with new neighborhoods sprouting up continuously.  So therefore, I believe gentrification did occur but now with new urbanism of the community, the Lorton, Virginia area will continue to prosper.

New Housing in Lorton

Redevelopment of Lorton Correctional Facility into the
DC Art Workshop

Bike and hiking trail developed from
the Prison Land

Hiking and Biking Trails in Lorton, VA

What is the Pruitt-Igoe Myth?

What is the Pruitt-Igoe Myth?  In the 1950's the city of St. Louis was looking to develop an area for housing.  The building of the Pruitt-Igoe housing began and the city moved in many low-income families.  The housing development prospered but eventually it began to deteriorate to the point of total destruction in the early 1970's.  What happened between 1956 and 1972 was an inhuman look at how a public housing project could fester into a manacing area for the residents.

The city of St. Louis is still dealing with the affect of the Pruitt-Igoe incident 50-60 years later.  The residents felt that the city was not maintaining the maintenance to the buildings and most of the housing development began to deteriorate.

It was a quick downfall to the buildings that the residents became angry and started to vandalize and destroy the area.  The residents eventually had a protests and stopped paying their rent to force the Mayor to make changes to the maintenance.  The residents won but a few months later a huge water main and sewer pipe broke making the buildings in habitable.

The city of St. Louis determined the housing development was not adequate for living so they decided to tear down the many building in the Pruitt-Igoe housing area.

The development of these buildings was a huge undertaking in help those who are in need of low-income or affordable housing.  By looking at these pictures it could say that most developers decided to hold back on these types of projects.

The Pruitt-Igoe project is a part of globalization because many different people from different places were brought together to live in an area that housed over 12,000.  With development of these housing buildings, it brought a huge influx of money to the area. The globalization of Pruitt-Igoe was a melting pot of many different cultures and traditions but everyone still wanted on thing for themselves and their families - a better life.