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Acres Homes is a neighborhood located in the northwest section of the city of Houston, Texas. The 9-square mile area is loosely bounded by the city limits and West Gulf Bank Road to the north; Pinemont Drive to the south; North Shepherd Drive to the east; and Antoine Drive to the west. ==History== Acres Homes was established during World War I, when Houston landowners began selling homesites in the area that were large enough to contain small gardens and raise chickens or farm animals. These large areas were often divided by the acre and not by the plot, hence the name "Acres Homes". The farm capabilities of the home sites attracted many rural settlers, who dug their own wells, and built small, sanitary houses. Kristen Mack of the ''Houston Chronicle'' said that Acres Homes was originally marketed as "a bit of genteel country with quick and easy access to the city." The community was also touted as a place where African Americans could own houses and land instead of being in more dense urban areas.〔Mack, Kristen. "(Living in Neglect / Decades of Disappointment / ORIGINALLY MARKETED AS A BIT OF GENTEEL COUNTRY WITH QUICK AND EASY ACCESS TO THE CITY, ACRES HOMES IS AS IMPOVERISHED TODAY AS IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO, RESIDENTS SAY )." ''Houston Chronicle''. Sunday November 17, 2002. A20. Retrieved on February 19, 2010.〕 At one time it was the largest unincorporated African-American community in the Southeastern United States.〔Longoria, Rafael and Susan Rogers. "(The Rurban Horseshoe )." ''Cite 73''. The Rice Design Alliance, (Northern Hemisphere) Winter 2008. Page 19. Retrieved on February 24, 2010.〕 As time went on, the conditions began declining due to several decades of neglect. As the rural settlers moved out of their dilapidated homes, realtors began marketing the area, largely to African Americans, as a suburban area which was not far from the city. In reality, it was a heavily wooded, sparsely settled slum without adequate transportation or educational facilities. The City of Houston annexed about of land in the Acres Homes area in 1967. In 1974 the city annexed another of Acres Homes territory.〔Lee, Renée C. "(Annexed Kingwood split on effects )." ''Houston Chronicle''. Sunday October 8, 2006. A21. Retrieved on July 6, 2011. Print version exclusively has the information cited; the information is ''not'' included in the online edition.〕 Mack said that the appeal of Acres Homes ended around the 1970s.〔 Before it was annexed by the city of Houston, Acres Homes was considered to be the largest unincorporated African American community in the Southern United States. The area's location close to Garden Oaks - a primarily working-class white neighborhood in the 1960s and 1970s- birthed racial tensions in north Houston during the racial equality movement of the time. The community now includes a combination of large areas of pine forests with a scattering of homes: small tract homes built in standard suburban subdivisions, and large comfortable homes on well-maintained wooded lots. There is little commercial or industrial development. It covers . On August 30, 2007, the ''Houston Chronicle'' published an article about a syphilis outbreak in Houston. Marlene McNeese-Ward, the Houston Health Department chief of HIV/STD and Viral Hepatitis Prevention, stated "We're really looking at Acres Homes especially, and Sunnyside, but there's not too many ZIP codes... where we're not seeing any (cases)."〔Grant, Alexis. "(Houston targets syphilis increase )," ''Houston Chronicle'', August 29, 2007. B1 MetFront.〕 The area is a well known high crime area, with about 13 homicides reported in 2008. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Acres Homes, Houston」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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