New Town is a
neighborhood of
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
. A primarily residential neighborhood, it is located in Jacksonville's
Urban Core
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fre ...
, immediately northwest of
Downtown.
History
New Town was developed in the early 20th century for African-American workers in the railroads and industrial areas to the east, south and west. The neighborhood is home to
Edward Waters College
Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) as a school to educate freedmen and their children. ...
, Florida's oldest
historically black college
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...
.
By the 21st century, the neighborhood show considerable signs of urban decay, with residents plagued by crime, failing schools, health problems, and endemic poverty.
Success zone
In 2008, Jacksonville mayor
John Peyton and other parties established the ''New Town Success Zone'', modeled after
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
's
Harlem Children's Zone, which provides comprehensive social and educational programs and services to children in the neighborhood.
Habitat build
In 2012 a completed
HabiJax home was furnished and decorated by a local interior designer as a model for the revitalization of the neighborhood. The project, which constructed more than 100 new homes, was completed in 2012.
Location
New Town is located in the city's
Urban Core
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fre ...
, immediately northwest of
Downtown. It is bounded by King Street to the north,
I-95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...
to the west, Seminary Street to the east, and Beaver Street to the south.
References
External links
New Town Success Zone
{{Neighborhoods of Jacksonville
Neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida
Vernacular architecture in Florida
Westside, Jacksonville
Historic districts in Jacksonville