Shotgun House Architecture: Preservation, Experimentation, and Displacement in the South

The shotgun house, a 19th-century vernacular typology found in Southern port cities like New Orleans, Mobile, Houston, and Louisville, is being reexamined by contemporary architects. Historically targeted by urban renewal in the 1960s-70s, which disproportionately displaced Black communities, the typology now faces renewed interest amid gentrification. Projects like CICADA's Perrier Residence in New Orleans' Touro Bouligny neighborhood preserve original features like fireplaces and heart-pine flooring. ZDES's Shotgun Chameleon in Houston's Freedmen's Town reinterprets the form with climate-responsive screens. Miró Rivera Architects' Hill Country House in rural Texas abstracts the shotgun plan into a linear spine with jagged roofs. buildingstudio's Alligator in New Orleans' Central City, developed post-Hurricane Katrina as affordable housing, costs $50,000 and uses a translucent polycarbonate facade. The article warns that architectural attention without community stabilization policies—such as land trusts, rent control, and inclusionary zoning—risks accelerating displacement.