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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1972)
Malone image remains strong by Bart Becker The information which follows was taken from a report by the University Department of Geography, 'The Face of Malone: An Area of Transition in Lincoln, Nebraska." The editor was Dean S. Rugg. The authors were David A. Montgomery, Frank A. Pratt, Rodney W. Schuling, Boniface N. Madubom and Darshan S. Kang. The boundaries of what is called "Malone" are indefinite. For the purposes of the geographic study, an area of approximately 55 blocks from Q to Y Streets and from 19th to 26th Streets, was included. This is the first of two articles on the report. Under the analysis of the stcdy, there seems to be little basis for the concept of a separate "Malone" area. Yet the concept of Malone exists, and exists strongly. Without such a strong image, the study concludes, it is doubtful if the Malone area would have retained its identity, rightly or wrongly, as it has all through the years. What, then, is the image of Malone? "First," says the report, "it is an image of black. The Negro element, while not an actual majority within this area, is visually dominant." The racial distribution figures for 1970 show that the census area including Malone has by far the highest proportion of blacks of any of the census tracts. The tract included 537 blacks, or 24.24 per cent of the total 2,432 black residents of Lancaster County. This figure represents a decline from 1960 when 1,125 blacks lived in the Malone Area. That represented 44.3 per cent of the county's total black population, and 33.76 per cent of the population of Malone. While the report concluded the Malone area was not a ghetto, it did note that the area from X to Q Street and from 1 9th to 22nd was 71 .2 per cent black in 1970. The report brands that area the Malone "Ghettolet." The population is racially heterogeneous with over 30 per cent of its population non-white. It has also apparently been segregated, or at least racially sorted. The University expansion program calls for the acquisition of land in the area as far as the Northeast Radial Highway, which is proposed to run essentially parallel to 22nd Street. This means that the acquisition plans are changing the area that might be considered ghetto. Most of the displaced residents are apparently moving to the east, some of them only as far as they need to for now. This is made apparent by racial distribution charts. But it is an image of "old" as well, the report says, "not only in the sense of time-aged, but meaning used-up, drained, shabby." Although the largest population age group is the LINCOLN, NEBRASKA: SOCIO-ECONOMIC AREAS m m Hih Medium 15-24 years-old (33.8 per cent of the total area population) the second largest group is that composed of persons 65 years old and over, who comprise about 14 per cent of the area population. The old image applies to the housing as well as to the people of the area. The fact that 58.33 per cent of the houses are valued at between $5,000 and $9,000 is a sign that the units are not of the best quality. The houses of the area, with very few exceptions, differ little in basic style. The majority were constructed within the period 1910-1930 and show little variation from the basic middle-class pattern prominent during those days. Housing quality, according to the report, runs the gamut from good to dilapidated. The largest and most infamous is the southwest quadrant, composed largely of deteriorating or dilapidated dwellings in various stages of disrepair. v. - M""' Z-ZZir- t P-t v.,' ... -, ?41 m - ' " -- - , , -n, N -Miiiiiin i.niiii inriii- hi' i ii ii'iri ' n " in ii ii li " IIMMUiaw Tom and Barb Cypher . . . and one house in the Malone area. photo by Dan Ladely It is this area that forms much of the popular image of Malone as a whole. Yet the adjacent area to the east is one of generally good grooming. The single-family dwelling units in the Malone Area are more concentrated in the southwest and northeast. The .economic characteristics of the area show that it is not a typical absentee-landlord slum, if it is a slum at all. In 1970, 28.3 per cent of the housing units in the area were owner-occupied while the figure for 1960 was 39.7 per cent. The mean value of all owner-occupied and vacant for-sale units in 1970 was about $6,878. The mean monthly contract rent for all renter-occupied units was $85. However, this figure is distorted upwards somewhat by 32 units of the total 456, which were renting for between $200 and $299 and 13 units renting for $150-$199. Apparently only the new apartment buildings are bringing in high rent. A second economic characteristic has to do with income. A 1968 study showed that a sample of persons had the following income characteristics: Government programs 20 per cent Income less than $2,000year 10 percent $2,000 $5,000year 40 per cent $5,100-$10,000year 19 per cent The report notes that Malone lacks internal circulation to a "remarkable" degree. Within the study area there are no elementary schools, food stores, drug stores, restaurants, bars, theatres or any of the other attractions or necessities of life. These functions line the rim of the Malone Area and act as a force, drawing the residents of the area in outward directions. Consequently, there is very little personal communication among residents of the greater part of the area. External pressures are changing the land use pattern within the study area. The effects of the University's expansion can be noted. The Northeast Radial exerts another pressure. Non residential land use comprises almost half of the Malone Area (49.2 per cent), The two major types of such land use are commercial-industrial (20.9 per cent) and vacant land (21.1 percent), Cushman Motors accounts for over one-half of the total commercial industrial land use category. The remainder is taken up by 19 firms engaged in retail sales, services and construction. Vacant lots comprise 21,1 per cent of the total land use within the area. As homes are razed some land is put into use, mostly for new apartments, but most of it remains vacant, apparently intended for future University use or as the site of the Northeast Radial. The future of Malone will likely be decided by its largest land-area occupant-Cushman Motors. If Cushman leaves the area it will herald the approach of either the University or the city. Either of these two outside forces can, upon entering, drastically change over one-third of the total Malone Area, that portion west of 22nd street. page 10 daily nebraskan thursday, September 21,1972