Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

North Richmond is distinguished by both bad reputation and bad luck.

Around the turn of the century, North Richmond was a tiny enclave of flimsy dwellings near the shore of San Pablo Bay. Italians, Mexicans, Asians and other immigrants who had come to the West Coast made up most of the population, along with a handful of African Americans.

But things changed drastically with the onset of WWII, which profoundly transformed Richmond and many other American hubs of war industry. North Richmond’s story has always been intertwined with Richmond proper, but with its own distinct evolution.

The changes were just as profound, but far less noticed or recorded, in North Richmond, which had already established a civic, cultural and political identity all its own.

It was rural, and multi-ethnic. Particularly before the war, when the city was small and transportation even more spotty, North Richmond felt removed from Richmond, linked principally by a slender strip of road called 7th street.

North Richmond is a community forged during World War II and shunted to the margins ever since. In the early days, the rains and surging tides turned the streets to mud and swept away all but the sturdiest fixtures. Even today, not a single traffic light stands here, and the streets take on an inky darkness every night thanks to poor street lighting.

The community comprises fewer than 3,000 people, and carries the dubious distinction of having the lowest per capita income in Contra Costa County, about $9,000, or less than one-third the county average.

The stark contrast is that this one-square mile of poorly-lit streets and aging structures is nestled within one of the world’s most vibrant metropolitan areas. Within miles the largely undeveloped shore of San Pablo Bay, bridges, major highways and public transportation lines. How and when the seemingly inevitable rush of investment and development occurs could be one of the biggest stories of the next decade and a driver of area growth.

The potential exists not only for revitalization and an improvement of existing conditions, but for many of those who have lived here for generations to have a legitimate opportunity to be a part of the community’s rebirth.

Or North Richmond could continue to languish, repelling investment with its incomparable concentration of poverty, violence, reputation and political division.