Demolitions of homes, or teardowns, happen for a variety of reasons. While it is not always the case that a teardown is related to a property being flipped or contributing to displacement, in the climate of a gentrifying community teardowns are emblematic of market-driven change that is infrequently sensitive to the culture a community makes for itself. People may feel the loss of historical architecture, whether grand or humble, reflects the loss of their community culture. This can be especially painful for communities of color which have been damaged repeatedly by blight clearance and removal projects that have yet to be accounted for.

Some may regret the loss of a home in their neighborhood when so many truly need an affordable place to stay. Others still may be concerned about the lead and asbestos released into the air by a demolition when it is not contained well. And, not least, others still are tracking whether there have been more teardowns in gentrifying Durham neighborhoods after the 2019 approval of the Planning Department’s Expanding Housing Choices (EHC) zoning changes to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO).

Demolitions are permitted by the Durham City-County Inspections Department, along with permits for new construction, additions and alterations. The information included here reflects only full demolitions of residential structures. For every year of data available, the number of these for each area on the map is divided by the square mileage of the area to create the rate displayed here.

Source: Durham City-County Inspections Department