Westwood: Difference between revisions

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== History ==
== History ==
Back in the early 20th century Greenfield saw a massive boom in industrial expansion and therefore needed to expand further west of the city. This was urgent because a ton of residents were displaced in order to build a port right next to Barons Bar. In the 1900s this brand new residential/industrial area would be Westwood. The neighbourhood was mostly made up of regular single-family homes or duplexes and other things alike, with wall-to-wall commercial buildings along the grand avenue's. Multiple factory buildings were placed along the canal and towards the port which made a direct acces to the railroads leading in and out of Greenfield. The current passenger railroad was relaid onto a small elevation held up by concrete walls which goes right through the neighbourhood with a train station being built on one of the main avenue's. And multiple bridges were constructed that connected Westwood and Ashfield west which made transporting goods easier with cargo-vehicles. Westwood and it's neighbouring districts generated alot of income for the city.  
Back in the late 19th century Greenfield saw a massive boom in industrial expansion and therefore needed to expand further west of the city. This was urgent because a ton of residents were displaced in order to build a port right next to Barons Bar.  


Rolling into the 1930s and 1940s, many factories were constructed and or updated for more for more workers and better production rates. And on the very outskirts of town a few houses were built making Westwood a fairly decently sized neighbourhood.
At the turn of the century Barons Bar grew to a decent size, while the land right next to it was home to a few dilapidated houses and a lot of shanties because of the port expansion. But it was from 1900 that new area would be slowly built up. The neighbourhood was mostly made up of regular single-family homes or duplexes and other things alike, with wall-to-wall commercial buildings along the grand avenue's.  


The golden age of the 1950s made Westwood not an expensive, but an affordable, productive and stable neighbourhood. Big companies settled here, people built a few newer houses on elderly houses and the main roads were alive with family-owned businesses', the recent major port expansion and development was the reason for Westwood to become thriving in those days.  
Multiple factory buildings were placed along the canal and towards the port which made a direct access to the railroads leading in and out of Greenfield. The current passenger railroad was relaid onto a small elevation held up by concrete walls which goes right through the neighbourhood with a train station being built on one of the main avenue's. And multiple bridges were constructed that connected Westwood and Ashfield west which made transporting goods easier with cargo-vehicles. Westwood and it's neighbouring districts generated alot of income for the city.  


But as car-depency became a trend, the new Interstate-5 would cut right through Westwood, Barons Bar and other poor or racially diverse neighbourhoods. This caused many long-time residents to be displaced and a few buildings that were demolished. This increased traffic because the factories had better transport via trucks and stores could have more people passing by with a car. However, this made living conditions and land value to decrease and crime was slowly crawling it's way up once the mid-60s hit. So smaller businesses' closed their doors because sometimes those robberies would cost a lot of money to fix, and Westwood is slowly plummeting into a not so nice neighbourhood.  
Rolling into the 1930s and 1940s, many factories were constructed and or updated for more for more workers and better production rates. On the very outskirts of town a few houses were built making Westwood a fairly large neighbourhood.


By the late 1960s and early 1970s, big companies would go bankrupt or move out of Greenfield for a place with a more thriving economy and investments. This caused residents to become unemployed and would financially make it harder to keep up. Which resulted in houses being abandoned and or forclosed, which some of them were targeted by arsonists and vandals. Crime was rampant and lead to the birth of the long-time gangs we know of today, those were the Westside Brothers and the Gunslingers, which were feared by loads of people in the area.
Westwood's most booming decade was the 1950s. During this period a ton of industries would settle inbetween Westwood and Barons Bar. Along with a massive expansion to the Greenfield Port. This caused for a major population boom and a big expansion for Westwood. As it became a hotspot for a cheap, easy living, close to the city center and to tons of jobs available. Many cheap, brand new houses were built in order to house the incoming residents moving in.  


Around this time is when the avenue's were only mere shadows of it's former grand roads lined with stores. Consisting of empty lots strewn with garbage, boarded up wall to wall retail as the only original buildings left standing. And rotting midcentury stripmalls closing one by one slowly. The streets were in terrible condition and the people lived in old, outdated houses that most of the inhabitants living in it had no money to maintain it. Homelesness and garbage was a big problem, some people even left beaten up car wrecks on the side of the roads. And yet the city did nothing about it and Westwood became one big ghetto. Ramona at the time was lucky to be saved by a development company.  
But as car-depency became a trend, the new Interstate-5 would cut right through Westwood, Barons Bar and other poor neighbourhoods. This caused many long-time residents to be displaced and the neighbourhood to change drastically. Leaving behind a path of destruction that is still seen to this day.  


Westwood in the 1980s and 1990s is one of the most popular, memorable periods of that area. Through rap-culture people were able to show their dire situation to make the dying neighbourhoods a better place. Gangs took advantage of the growing Crack Epidemic which resulted in gruesome killings throughout the period, with often shootouts forming on the streets every month. Westwood suffered multiple minor protests to fight against racism, which the most chaotic one was fueled by the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992. It wasn't as bloody and fiery as LA, but several cars, businesses' were torched and or vandalised. People fought with each other which caused the police to form roadblocks in certain parts of the neighbourhood. The riots were quickly apprehended and stopped after two days of unrest.   
Westwood did not suffer too much from the car-dependent expansions. But would slowly start to fall off from it's glory days. Land value starting to decrease along with a creeping abandonment issue forming in the neighbourhood. And citizens wanted to be paid fairly, as some companies simple gave very low loans, which led up to a huge garbage strike that started from 1968 and lasting till early 1973. Devolving into a dirty, smog-filled poor ghetto. And the usual petty crimes are now starting to become more frequent.   


As the 21st century comes. Westwood recovered slightly from it's former decayed and abandoned place it was in previous times, there are more stores than usual, the streets are a tad bit nicer and crime after the 2000s has decreased to a relatively low level. Though it's still dangerous and remains the most crime-ridden district of Greenfield as of today, it did not fully heal since there are still decaying buildings, gang presence and homelesness, though in comparison that decreased in recent times.   
One by one businesses and companies left the place in search to settle in well-off areas. The once grand avenues slowly being overtaking by empty lots, filth and shady stripmalls that have fallen into disrepair. Not much was left of the original Westwood apart from the decrepit, old houses and boarded up stores or factories that were literally falling apart.
 
With the formation of gangs, many people nicknamed it 'The Murder Grove' because of arson and rivalling gangs fighting for territory, drugs and guns, along with the pressure of major riots due to police-brutality and the government corrupt to the core. The streets once peaceful are now being fought over with rising gun violence, and the police non-stop busting traphouses and drug-trafficking operations due to the ongoing Crack Epidemic that greatly impacted the city of Greenfield.
 
The 1994 Earthquake left Westwood in dazzling conditions. Collapsed buildings, ruined roads and an increased level of poverty and homelessness. Which resulted in several construction companies re-doing the roads along with demolishing and cleaning up only a few of the ruins left by the disaster. But despite it's infrastructure redone, that was only a one-time fix. And to this day many poor residents have to live in decrepit, run down houses that still look battle-torn ever since. With many abandoned and burnt-down houses and stores still left gutted and torn apart, and the roads being full of garbage and looking just as awful and beat-up before the earthquake hit. And crime decreased since the 1990s but still not enough for it to be safe to walk outside. Little has been done and it's basically left as a decaying slum as of 2023.   


== Notable builds ==
== Notable builds ==

Latest revision as of 14:19, 31 October 2023

View of Westwood as seen from a drone

Westwood is a designated community area on the west side of Greenfield, California. It is located west of Downtown Greenfield.

History

Back in the late 19th century Greenfield saw a massive boom in industrial expansion and therefore needed to expand further west of the city. This was urgent because a ton of residents were displaced in order to build a port right next to Barons Bar.

At the turn of the century Barons Bar grew to a decent size, while the land right next to it was home to a few dilapidated houses and a lot of shanties because of the port expansion. But it was from 1900 that new area would be slowly built up. The neighbourhood was mostly made up of regular single-family homes or duplexes and other things alike, with wall-to-wall commercial buildings along the grand avenue's.

Multiple factory buildings were placed along the canal and towards the port which made a direct access to the railroads leading in and out of Greenfield. The current passenger railroad was relaid onto a small elevation held up by concrete walls which goes right through the neighbourhood with a train station being built on one of the main avenue's. And multiple bridges were constructed that connected Westwood and Ashfield west which made transporting goods easier with cargo-vehicles. Westwood and it's neighbouring districts generated alot of income for the city.

Rolling into the 1930s and 1940s, many factories were constructed and or updated for more for more workers and better production rates. On the very outskirts of town a few houses were built making Westwood a fairly large neighbourhood.

Westwood's most booming decade was the 1950s. During this period a ton of industries would settle inbetween Westwood and Barons Bar. Along with a massive expansion to the Greenfield Port. This caused for a major population boom and a big expansion for Westwood. As it became a hotspot for a cheap, easy living, close to the city center and to tons of jobs available. Many cheap, brand new houses were built in order to house the incoming residents moving in.

But as car-depency became a trend, the new Interstate-5 would cut right through Westwood, Barons Bar and other poor neighbourhoods. This caused many long-time residents to be displaced and the neighbourhood to change drastically. Leaving behind a path of destruction that is still seen to this day.

Westwood did not suffer too much from the car-dependent expansions. But would slowly start to fall off from it's glory days. Land value starting to decrease along with a creeping abandonment issue forming in the neighbourhood. And citizens wanted to be paid fairly, as some companies simple gave very low loans, which led up to a huge garbage strike that started from 1968 and lasting till early 1973. Devolving into a dirty, smog-filled poor ghetto. And the usual petty crimes are now starting to become more frequent.

One by one businesses and companies left the place in search to settle in well-off areas. The once grand avenues slowly being overtaking by empty lots, filth and shady stripmalls that have fallen into disrepair. Not much was left of the original Westwood apart from the decrepit, old houses and boarded up stores or factories that were literally falling apart.

With the formation of gangs, many people nicknamed it 'The Murder Grove' because of arson and rivalling gangs fighting for territory, drugs and guns, along with the pressure of major riots due to police-brutality and the government corrupt to the core. The streets once peaceful are now being fought over with rising gun violence, and the police non-stop busting traphouses and drug-trafficking operations due to the ongoing Crack Epidemic that greatly impacted the city of Greenfield.

The 1994 Earthquake left Westwood in dazzling conditions. Collapsed buildings, ruined roads and an increased level of poverty and homelessness. Which resulted in several construction companies re-doing the roads along with demolishing and cleaning up only a few of the ruins left by the disaster. But despite it's infrastructure redone, that was only a one-time fix. And to this day many poor residents have to live in decrepit, run down houses that still look battle-torn ever since. With many abandoned and burnt-down houses and stores still left gutted and torn apart, and the roads being full of garbage and looking just as awful and beat-up before the earthquake hit. And crime decreased since the 1990s but still not enough for it to be safe to walk outside. Little has been done and it's basically left as a decaying slum as of 2023.

Notable builds

Transit

Rail

-Info on regional rail

Subway

-Info on Subway

Highway

Interstate 5 runs to the west of Westwood. There are two main avenues that run through the district.

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