Pelham Apartment Stretch: Greenville, SC

The city of Greenville, SC is my home. The city is situated in Greenville County which is the most populous county in South Carolina. Located in the heart of the upstate, Greenville city has over 56,000 people living within the city limits (Anonymous, 2009). I live, eat, sleep and learn in a neighborhood I call the Pelham Apartment Stretch. It is an area that is defined as being enclosed by four specific boundaries- Haywood Rd., East North St., North Pleasantburg Dr. and the I-85 highway. It is a highly convenient and well-planned area providing nearly every necessary resource for living a fairly decent lifestyle in walking distance from any domicile.

Located on this stretch of road are eight different apartment complexes. Cost varies widely, from around $395 per month at Breckinridge to $945 per month at the very comfortable Caledon Wood apartments. This wide range of prices makes for a variety of different income levels to live in close contact, something I have found to be fairly unique in Greenville. This makes for a fairly heterogeneous group of inhabitants. In Westchester Square, my own apartment complex and in the lower price ranges, I have noticed several different cultural and ethnically diverse neighbors.

In Westchester Square, a person could find Hispanic, Filipino, African-American, Caucasians and Middle-Eastern families. This diverse group is especially apparent during events hosted by the apartment complex, such as pool parties or holiday gatherings. The diversity is not limited to race. Several Mormon missionaries are in residence at Westchester, as well. This diverse population probably gives rise to the wide range of services available in this community.

In the Pelham Apartment Stretch, a person can find almost anything they need. There are two grocery stores within walking distance, and a wide variety of restaurants. There is ethnic cuisine in the form of Thai Sky restaurant or Joy of Tokyo and three different pizza parlors. A person can find fast food from Jack-in-the-Box or eat four star dinners at Justin's Steakhouse. Afterwards, a person can work off those calories at a 24hr Fitness and then head over to Bruster's Ice Cream for a well earned reward.

Satisfying ethnic needs, a person could find a small Hispanic market as well as a small Asian foods store. These often carry items not found in mainstream grocery store aisles that are staples of ethnic cultures. They also offer services that are either unavailable or priced less than at major grocery stores. These include phone services to international destination at a low cost and the often used money transfer services. There is also a small Hispanic church close by for those in need of services in Spanish.

The religious needs of the community can be met simply as well. There is a Baptist church on the corner of Pelham Rd. and East North Street that is used as a polling place during elections. A Cross Way Christian supply store is right around the corner from the church. The Hispanic church services the needs of Hispanic Pentacostals. Unfortunately, only Christians have services in this area.

The Pelham Apartment Stretch has many services for the low-income family as well. A dollar store is nearby, located right next to a Goodwill store. The Social Security office is prominently located on Pelham Rd, and a large Cash America Pawn Shop is visible on the corner of East North Street. There are also two check cashing/cash advance centers located in this relatively small area. This fact makes it glaringly obvious that the immediate area has a surplus of low-income families using these services; just another set of America's 22,000 payday lenders contributing to the $40 billion in short term loans used by millions of Americans in 2006 (Karger, 2007).

There are many other types of services available on the Pelham Apartment Stretch. Three major hotels are located on the corner of Pelham and Haywood, making it a hub for businessmen visiting Greenville. Two gas stations and two different oil/lube stations service the automobile needs of the community, and North Hills Auto Sales is there to sell a car if one is needed. There is a small medical clinic and a dentist's office located on Pelham Rd, both within a mile or two of CVS and Walgreens pharmacies. Of course, what neighborhood would be complete without a Starbuck's Coffee and three banks to get the coffee money from?

Entertainment needs can be found close by as well. A Blockbuster video is on the corner of East North Street if a night at home is in the cards, but for the more adventurous, there are bars located in Brick City and Joe's Midtown Tavern. A person can experience music and dancing at Escape Oxygen Dance Club, the only oxygen bar in Greenville. In addition, activities are provided when the neighborhood often has local events at the Crosswinds Golf Club, such as fireworks on July 4^th and New Years Eve. Altogether, these resources make living on the Pelham Apartment Stretch one of the most convenient areas a person can live, especially if they are low to middle income.

According to the systems perspective, the strength of the interconnection between these resources and the community is one of the ways to evaluate the social system (Johnson, 2005). This particular community allows for one to live and even thrive even if income is limited. Low cost foods and apparel from the Dollar Tree and Goodwill make it possible to keep a family clothed and fed. If income limitations prevent one from owning and maintaining a vehicle, most services are within walking distance. If one must leave the community, a major bus line is along Pelham Rd. It is conceivable that as the community has aged, the aging apartment complexes have become increasingly more affordable for low-income families. In response, in an attempt to create homeostasis, the community developed numerous resources to make it as easy for a low-income family to exist in the community as those better off. The existence of these resources have allowed the community to thrive and create apartment complexes that are more upscale, and keep the income level high enough in the community to prevent the degradation of the area.

The heterogeneous nature of the Pelham Apartment Stretch has allowed the community to grow to the point where it is not dependent on much outside of the community. This is a benefit, as access to these various resources is a strong draw to families looking for a community to live in. This has also fostered a strong sense of community, as is evidenced by the number of people who attend community events.

One issue that is of concern is accessibility. One notices a dearth of resources for the physically impaired in the older apartment complexes in the Pelham Apartment Stretch. In Westchester Square, almost every apartment has several steps leading into the residence. However, there are no handrails or wheelchair ramps to be seen in the complex. This pattern is repeated at three other complexes on the stretch, making it half of the complexes that are not disabled friendly.

This is of concern because it gives the impression that the community does not care for or even want the disabled to live on their properties. This also makes it difficult for a community resident to remain living in the community should something happen to disable them. The lack of resources for the disabled can be extremely frustrating and difficult for them to deal with. According to the National Accessible Apartment Clearinghouse website, the Fair Housing Act provides guidelines regarding specific accessibility requirements in multi-family housing properties built after March 13^th, 1991 (Anonymous, Home, 2009). One must assume the complexes without noticeable access were built prior to that date.

Opportunities for activity are an important part of any community. Westchester Square often has pool parties and barbeque events for the complex residents. This really strengthens the neighborly bonds and forges a much stronger sense of community. Friends are made, and safe fun is had. The importance of this is apparent during special holiday events that are geared more towards the children of the community; holidays such as Halloween or Easter. Larger community events, usually held at the golf course, provide an opportunity for the families from different complexes to meet and have fun.

On a smaller scale, most complexes have a park or recreational area for children and/or their families. This provides a relatively close area for children to get physical activity outdoors in a safer environment and under the watchful gaze of family and neighbors. This is important not only for the healthy exercise benefits for the children, but can also act as stress relief for parents who know exactly where their children are and increasing their peace of mind. Studies have shown a link between depression and the lack of sunlight and exercise, so entire families can benefit from time on the playground (Schimelpfening, 2008). These areas also provide opportunities for children to meet each other and form friendships. This is important, as it allows for development of social skills necessary as one grows up.

Another trait that makes the Pelham Apartment Stretch special is the comfort factor. Comfort is defined as the state or something that promotes the state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from anxiety and pain (Anonymous, Comfort, 2009). The stretch is fortunate enough to have apartment complexes that started out as somewhat pricey, upscale housing. As the apartments have aged, some small portion of this comfort has remained in the size of the apartments, the floor plans and the styles to be found in the complexes. The comfort of the area is important because it makes it easier for one to overlook flaws or disadvantages they may have. For example, one might be more inclined to overlook the lack of money for going out to the theater if the apartment they lived in had a 42 inch high definition television and a local Blockbuster Video.

Comfort can also be affected by the neighbors one has. Congenial neighbors would seem to make a less glamorous neighborhood more welcoming and friendly and therefore a better place to live. Access to amenities, distance to resources and services can all factor into how comfortable a community can be. One factor that can affect the comfort level of a neighborhood is the level of crowding.

The Pelham Apartment Stretch is a relatively small area to have so many residential units, including the hotels. Crowding can affect the quality of a neighborhood in many ways. Traffic can be atrocious when trying to exit the Westchester Square complex onto Pelham Rd. The Sheer number of units and tenants also make it difficult to find a washer and dryer available to do laundry in the complex's Laundromat. Crowding often affects many other facets of neighborhood life, from the sounds of cars with stereos blaring to the overflow of garbage in dumpsters that are too small for the amount of trash produced by tenants. Neighborhood children can often be somewhat rowdy and a nuisance, especially in areas heavy in families and close to the playground. Finding a parking space can be problematic, and often families are contractually limited by their lease to 2 vehicles per family regardless of the size of the family.

Crowding leads to a lot of people in a lot of buildings that tend to be rather close to each other. This can cause many privacy issues. Apartment homes bordering Westchester Square and its neighbor Ashwood at Pelham attempt to maintain privacy through a screen of trees. However, since Ashwood at Pelham is located on an incline above Westchester Square, and the tree screen is rather spotty, an Ashwood resident can get a perfect view into one's second floor bedroom window. This can be slightly uncomfortable, and can cause some self-consciousness in people, and maybe even a touch of paranoia.

Worse is when one notices how well the neighbors pay attention to what happens outside of their apartment. Private conversations on the way to a car are not so private anymore. Thin walls between apartments tend to let family disputes become common knowledge. Thankfully, despite the Patriot Act, some basic rights to privacy still exist. Visiting the local doctors clinic is not likely to become a topic for discussion among the public or even governing bodies. In Nazi Germany, and now potentially in Uganda, citizens were required to observe and report behaviors to the authorities under threat of imprisonment or worse. Uganda is attempting to pass a bill that would make it a requirement for any citizen to report any homosexual they know of within 24hrs of gaining that knowledge (Karugaba, 2009). These kinds of laws can break down a community and set individuals at each other's throats; it destroys the sense of unity.

Crowding also threatens privacy and security through simple mistakes. A large bank of mailboxes for an apartment complex increases the chances that someone receives mail for the wrong individual. Mail can be of a very sensitive nature at times. Cordless telephones, especially older cordless phones you might find in a lower-income area, can be overheard on other cordless' and even cellular phones if frequencies get mixed up.

One thing research did not find in the Pelham Apartment Stretch was authorities in the form of an actual police or fire station. Unable to find out what the average response time was for an emergency call, this raised some concerns over control. Every community has its deviants and this neighborhood is no exception. Twice in the past year Westchester Square has distributed notices about an apartment break-in and a series of car break-ins. There is an officer in residence on the property at night; the complex provides a complimentary apartment to have his services. However, the officer is working in the city during the daylight hours and not in Westchester Square. This indicates a noticeable lack of social controls in the area. Indeed, even speeding in incredibly common along Pelham Rd by these complexes to the point where pulling out of the complex is difficult.

Westchester Square employee Tracy said that they are short staffed and have a hard time keeping up with the needs of the complex (Tracy, 2009). Lamenting, she indicated that this was the situation in most apartment complex offices in the area due to the poor economy. Reluctantly, she admitted, "it can be hard to enforce basic rules like no barbequing on apartment patios or cleaning up after pet messes in the grassy areas" (Tracy, 2009).

Despite the "pet messes" and lack of direct control, the Pelham Apartment Stretch maintains a certain aesthetic quality. Most complexes have well-maintained grass and shrubbery making the complexes fairly pleasant to look upon. Some areas even have fragrant plants and flowers that provide a relaxing sensory experience poolside or on the apartment patio and improving the overall quality of life in the complexes. It is important to note that these small details add to the satisfaction of living in a community like this one.

It is the satisfaction of living in this community that can aid the sociality of the area. One could speculate that if one is satisfied with their community, that they would be more likely to participate in community events or even to reach out a hand of friendship to the neighbors around them. This sense of sociality is evident during every poolside party or when a neighbor helps jumpstart a car or change the tire for an elderly resident. It is evident in the friendly greetings offered between neighbors in Westchester Square and how well the employees recognize and remember the names of tenants.

All these qualities make the Pelham Apartment Stretch a meaningful place to live. A person can live there and feel as if they are not just existing, but are part of something greater than themselves; part of a larger family. One might compare the community to a small-town lifestyle thrust onto a microcosm of residences and businesses. A resident can find meaning in raising their children in an area that is easy to live in even during bad economic times; a place that offers a sense of community and safe, friendly events and interactions that help build strong families and friendships.

Each Fourth of July the residents of Westchester Square, hoping to avoid the larger crowds at the golf course, gather at the south end of the apartment complex to gaze at the fireworks just past the treeline. It is times like these that one can really feel connected to one's neighbors. I could only hope that more community event will develop to bring the community closer. Perhaps a community charitable event like a fair to raise research money for cancer or diabetes would be something good; any event that has more meaning than just having fun has the potential to bring people closer together.

Research into this project has shown me how much actually goes into making my community a neighborhood, not just a collection of individuals. It made me realize how much a community has to evolve over time to meet the growing and changing needs of the residents it serves. I see now that a thorough analysis of communities a social worker serves brings, not only a greater understanding of the community, but the knowledge of how a social worker can assist a client in finding a place where they can live and thrive and how to survive even when the chips are down. It made me recognize how valuable a heterogeneous make-up of families can be to an area in helping it grow and adapt into something that is self-supporting, yet offers a variety of resources and services to keep the community entertained and interested in investing into their neighborhood.Works Cited

Anonymous. (2009). Comfort. Retrieved November 4, 2009, from Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/comfort

Anonymous. (2009). Home. Retrieved November 7, 2009, from National Accessible Apartment Clearinghouse: http://www.accessibleapartments.org/website/article.asp?id=4

Anonymous. (2009). Newcomer Info. Retrieved October 31, 2009, from Greenvillesc.gov: http://www.greenvillesc.gov/neighborhoods/newcomer_info.asp

Cassidy, J. (2006, April 3). Relatively Deprived. The New Yorker , pp. 42-47.

Johnson, M. M. (2005). Human Behavior and the Larger Social Environment: A New Synthesis. Boston: Pearson.

Karger, H. J. (2007). The "poverty tax" and America's low-income households. Families in Society, 88 , 413-417.

Karugaba, M. &. (2009, October 15). How can we fight homosexuality in Uganda? Retrieved November 11, 2009, from Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=9623&post=81184&uid=91107543469#topic_top

Schimelpfening, N. (2008, January 29). Exercise and depression. Retrieved November 4, 2009, from About.com: http://depression.about.com/od/exercise/tp/exercise.htm

Tracy. (2009, October 28). Leasing Consultant. (M. Gittner, Interviewer)