Jeanne Pettiford, 90, has lived in North Minneapolis since 1941. Her neighborhood was poor, but relatively stable — home to African-American, Jewish, and Native American families. In 1968, she moved into her current home on Third Street North, a few short blocks from the river and Northeast. Back then, she left the door to her house unlocked, even when she was out of town for days at a time.

Things began to change when I-94 was built. The neighborhood directly in front of her home was leveled to make room for the highway. It severed North Minneapolis residents' access to Northeast.

Over the last decade, Ms. Pettiford has watched her block struggle with increased unemployment, violence, and, most recently, a wave of property foreclosures. Her house is now one of only two on her block that is not boarded up. She refuses to move, however, and continues to maintain a cheerfully decorated house and lawn.