soci320student: 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.