Cameron Park (Brownsville: apartments, rentals, mortgages)

[Future Trooper]

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 5,961 people, 1,269 households, and 1,199 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 9,962.4 people per square mile (3,835.9/km²). There were 1,366 housing units at an average density of 2,282.9/sq mi (879.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 87.05% White, 0.08% African American, 0.12% Asian, 11.93% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 99.28% of the population.
There were 1,269 households out of which 69.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.8% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.5% were non-families. 4.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.70 and the average family size was 4.81.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 43.4% under the age of 18, 13.8% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 13.0% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $16,934, and the median income for a family was $17,033. Males had a median income of $13,784 versus $12,805 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $4,103. About 58.1% of families and 61.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 66.4% of those under age 18 and 41.9% of those age 65 or over.
Cameron Park is the poorest community of it's size or larger in the United States, and is among the top 100 poorest places in the United States.



This is very sad where i live the percentage rate of poverty is 2.3%

do you know of any communities just like Cameron Park?

[JamesAbilene]

If you click on the link for the poorest places in the United States, you will find lots of cities in the poorest 100 in Texas. Most are along the lower Rio Grande River near Cameron Park.

[teatime]

Are you talking about the Cameron Park that's kinda/sorta in Brownsville? I say kinda/sorta because it was basically an illegal subdivision that sprung up through shady developers. Brownsville wouldn't claim it and neither would the county because no one wanted to pay for infrastructure.

It became one of those deals in which people moved in, defying intelligence and logic, and then announced, "Here we are -- you have to serve us." I don't understand that mentality, frankly. There are plenty of cheap places to rent in Brownsville -- one doesn't have to build a shack on a plot of land that doesn't have utilities, you know? CP is a hotbed for illegal aliens and illegal activity.

[tamalli]

Ok--I'll make this as succinct as possible.

Colonias such as Cameron Park sprang up because shady developers were able to get around infrastructure requirements (i.e. counties required none). Now, thankfully, you can't subdivide outside city limits without a legal plat and providing services (or posting bond).

As for moving in (and defying intelligence and logic) and demanding to be served, I submit to you that colonia developers frequently promised buyers that infrastructure would "be provided soon," and then fail to deliver. They'd either bail out of town or simply not be prosecuted, as historically the only means to go after a developer would be under a deceptive trade law... which, of course, would cost money--which colonias residents don't have, otherwise they wouldn't be aiming to live in a colonia in the first place. Colonias residents don't qualify for traditional mortgages; the option was to go homeless or take a chance in a colonia. And, with a colonia, you could build your house as you could afford to do so. Seemed the only option for many--but does that justify a developer not providiing infrastructure? I guess it depends on your ethics.

Hotbed of illegal activity and illegal immigrants? Considering 85% of all colonias residents are legal immigrants, I am puzzled by that assertion. In any case, I am myself in Cameron Park a lot (birthday parties, friends, clinics) and have never felt unsafe or had any problems.

So, that's as nutshell as I can be.

[teatime]

Originally Posted by tamalli

Ok--I'll make this as succinct as possible.

Colonias such as Cameron Park sprang up because shady developers were able to get around infrastructure requirements (i.e. counties required none). Now, thankfully, you can't subdivide outside city limits without a legal plat and providing services (or posting bond).

As for moving in (and defying intelligence and logic) and demanding to be served, I submit to you that colonia developers frequently promised buyers that infrastructure would "be provided soon," and then fail to deliver. They'd either bail out of town or simply not be prosecuted, as historically the only means to go after a developer would be under a deceptive trade law... which, of course, would cost money--which colonias residents don't have, otherwise they wouldn't be aiming to live in a colonia in the first place. Colonias residents don't qualify for traditional mortgages; the option was to go homeless or take a chance in a colonia. And, with a colonia, you could build your house as you could afford to do so. Seemed the only option for many--but does that justify a developer not providiing infrastructure? I guess it depends on your ethics.

Hotbed of illegal activity and illegal immigrants? Considering 85% of all colonias residents are legal immigrants, I am puzzled by that assertion. In any case, I am myself in Cameron Park a lot (birthday parties, friends, clinics) and have never felt unsafe or had any problems.

So, that's as nutshell as I can be.

As Judge Judy says, you don't get awards for being stupid. Why would anyone take a developer's WORD for infrastructure coming in the future? That's just plain irresponsible.

And, sorry, but you set up a false dichotomy between "taking a chance on a colonia" and being homeless. Have you ever heard of renting an apartment?????? I rented for many years before I could afford to buy a home and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. From what I saw of many of the structures in Cameron Park, living in an inexpensive apartment -- and there are many in Brownsville -- would be a HUGE improvement.

My son went to a middle school across the way from Cameron Park and, before they built more schools and improved the zoning to break up the concentration of CP kids, it was the absolute pits. My son was jumped in the locker room and given a concussion by two CP kids and the principal told me I just had to understand that those kids were underprivileged, came from bad homes, and didn't know any better. Violence was a way of life with those kids and they routinely got sent to the alternative center for bullying and picking fights. We managed to get a partial scholarship so my son could attend a private school and feel safe. It was tough for me, a single parent, to afford a private school but when a principal can't and won't protect your child, you have no choice. Everyone was supposed to feel sorry for CP and look the other way when it came to serious problems.

But that's the Valley for you.

[billybones]

When I was looking for land in Texas, I came across this term colonia. I had to look up what it was and then made sure to steer clear of any area such as that. I want inexpensive land as much as the next guy but I'll pass on a colonia.

I did come across this while surfing around. It's not about Cameron Park but it does seem that there has been some crackdown on crooked developers.

Texas Attorney General

[yosoyway]

Some of the persons that moved into Cameron Park were migrant workers. Many others came from Mexico. Many of these persons had better living conditions in Cameron Park than their homes in Mexico or as migrant workers.

I have friends that live or lived in Cameron Park and yes there are bad elements within Cameron Park but there are also many good persons. I knew many students that were from Cameron Park while I went to middle school and high school and most were humble students trying to get an education and make a better life for themselves and their families. There were trouble makes but tell me one place where you won't find them.

Maybe your son was one of those snobbish kids that thought they were better than others and would put down CP kids. If that's the case, then he probably got what he was asking for. We don't know the whole story and we are only getting your side.

Cameron Park has improved a lot since the days they hard dirt roads and limited utilities.

[teatime]

Originally Posted by yosoyway

Maybe your son was one of those snobbish kids that thought they were better than others and would put down CP kids. If that's the case, then he probably got what he was asking for. We don't know the whole story and we are only getting your side.

Sorry to disappoint you, but my kid was one of the few white kids there and wore clothes from Kmart so you calling him "snobbish" made me laugh. He spent most of his time trying to avoid the others who called him racist names and threatened him. I got a call from school that he was repeatedly late for his first period class and I was confused because I dropped him off in plenty of time, before I left for work. Turned out, he was staying in the band hall where it was safe and then rushing off to his first period class when the hallways cleared.

He was far from the only one threatened by CP kids, who tended to be older than the others and engaged in all sorts of inappropriate behavior. When we parents went to complain to the principal, we were always given the same lecture about how we had to understand and excuse the behavior because they were "less fortunate." I enrolled my son in Tae Kwan-do so he could defend himself and the principal told me that if he DID defend himself when he was jumped, he'd be expelled. It was a no-win situation.

Until other middle schools were built and the CP kids were dispersed among several schools, Vela Middle School was the absolute pits in terms of safety for our students. The building was beautiful and most of the teachers were very good; I'm glad it's improved since then. But people continue to make excuses for Cameron Park violence -- especially the priest of that church there -- and nothing will change until the excuses stop. We've experienced poverty first-hand when I've been too sick to work and my former husband's violence sent us to a shelter, but we've never used it as an excuse to become violent or break the law.

[tamalli]

Actually, I simply forgot to address rentals.

As a current Brownsville renter, I know how the market is now. But back in the relevant time period for this topic (1970s) after CP was subdivided and people began buying homes, I don't know what the rental market was like in Brownsville—i.e., did the rental market meet the need? (By the way, most colonias were in rural areas, with few to no apartments available to rent.) Additionally, you had the issue still present today—renting often produces the same barriers that keep people from getting traditional mortgages—lack of credit history, steady job, and sufficient income, etc. In any case, how do we know people DIDN’T rent? Maybe they rented a while, saved some money, realized they didn’t have the credit history to qualify for a mortgage, and opted for a colonia lot because of being sick of living in a cramped apartment.

What the subjective intention of each and every colonia homebuyer is impossible to know, but I think the blanket assertion of CP residents moving in and “demanding to be served” is a grossly unfair presumption that blindly assumes the worst in people and ignores the many, many socio-economic factors which played into the situation.

It’s horrible about “teatime’s” son, that is certain. But as we’re talking about the present day, it is true that, while not perfect, things in CP are getting better. So, to blithely dismiss CP as a hotbed of illegal activity and aliens is simply unwarranted. My grandfather was almost killed in the ’68 Chicago race riots; however, he refused to paint blacks with such a broad brush, and instead tried to “walk a mile in their shoes” before passing judgment—a personal ethic he passed on through his family.

As for "taking a chance" in a colonia, I misspoke. Most colonia buyers simply didn't understand the risks. So, we may not be talking about the most savvy or educated consumers, but again, my main point is this: that does not justify developers lying about the provision of infrastructure, in writing or not!

[yosoyway]

If this is the case, I am happy to read that you allowed your son the opportunity to stand up and defend himself. Sometimes these jerks pick on kids they know can't really defend themselves.

I know that Vela was bad but it was not as bad as other schools. I have friends and family that are teachers there. I have friends/family that have/had children there. And yes they said it had problems but nothing compared to other schools or the schools we attended.

Cameron Park has problems but you shouldn't generalize and say that they are the root of all problems. Just as there is a bad element in CP, there are also very good people trying to make their community better. Did you know that kids from well to do neighborhoods cause as many problems as the kids from CP?

Now, if my son/daughter ever had a problem like your son's, and I was told by the principal that my son would be expelled for defending himself, I wouldn't hold him back.