South Park Neighborhood Association

South Park Neighborhood Association

Meetings

We meet on the second Wednesday of every other month at the Quincie Douglas Neighborhood Center located on 36th Street at Kino Parkway.  We gather at 6:00 pm for refreshments and socializing before the meeting begins at 6:15.

A Brief History

The South Park area of Tucson was first settled in the 1940s by African Americans who moved to the city primarily from other southwestern States. Although the majority of Tucson's African-American residents at that time lived in substandard rental housing near the downtown area, many of these new arrivals had previously owned their own homes and were anxious to do the same in Tucson.

Because of segregation, however, African Americans had only limited opportunities to purchase land. The South Park area, at the time an unincorporated area southeast of Tucson, was one of only two locations where African Americans were permitted to buy lots. Families generally built their own homes. With little access to credit, they paid for materials and lived in tents while permanent dwellings were being constructed.

The struggles of these early residents helped foster a strong sense of community as residents pulled together to overcome adversity. By the 1960s, South Park was a well-knit, thriving community, anchored by a number of black-owned businesses along South Park Avenue. During the next several decades, however, South Park fell victim to problems of crime, gangs, and drugs shared by many inner-city communities across the Nation. The neighborhood declined, and by 1980, the incomes of almost 35 percent of South Park households were below the poverty level. The neighborhood's unemployment rate was more than 11 percent, nearly double that of the Tucson metropolitan area.

The racial and ethnic mix of the neighborhood was also changing. By 1990, the area's African-American population had fallen from 90 percent during the 1940s to less than 50 percent. The Hispanic population, meanwhile, increased to nearly 40 percent.

Since the 1990s the neighborhood has been revitalizing itself, working closely with the City of Tucson as well as a variety of community groups from Urban League to PRO Neighborhoods. Recent years have seen the addition of Silverlake Park, Quincie Douglas Neighborhood Center with a community swimming pool, and Quincie Douglas Public Library. Developers have brought new housing options to the area, and there is an exciting new planned community on the horizon bringing new homes, commercial and retail development, and a scientific research park.

From South Park Avenue Improvement Project, Tucson Department of Transportation
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ejustice/case/case8.htm