comeback cities: a blueprint for urban neighborhood revival by paul s. grogan & tony proscio a...

Comeback Cities:Comeback Cities: A A Blueprint for Urban Blueprint for Urban

Neighborhood RevivalNeighborhood Revival

By Paul S. Grogan & Tony Proscio

A report by:Jessica Dunne, Courtney

Kissinger, & Colin McCormack

IntroductionIntroduction

• American Cities are making a comeback• Four distinct trends are responsible:

• Grassroots Revitalization Movements.• Rebirth of Functioning Private Markets• Dropping Crime Rates• Disconnection from Public Bureaucracies

The South Bronx: From the The South Bronx: From the Bottom UpBottom Up

Decline began in 1960s• Robert Moses seized properties for expressways.• Welfare recipients were stuck in the remains.• 1967 – Decade of arsons began

• Most buildings were not restored, leaving tracts of rubble• 300,000 left the neighborhood

• Roughly 3/5 of population


South Bronx at its worst• Unemployment as high as 85%• Chances of natural death – 5%

• One block had 34 murders in a single year.• “Many city services taken for granted elsewhere

in New York, such as police protection, garbage collection, [and] some semblance of civil order, could not be predicted with certainty…” – New York Times


President Carter Comes to Town• In 1977, Jimmy Carter led a much-publicized

federal visit.• He declared a desire to fund urban renewal

• Carter visited a building that had been recently renovated by a nonprofit group.

• People’s Development Corporation• Carter left office before sending significant aid.


• After Carter, no presidents visited for 20 years.• “The place was politically toxic.”• Some presidential contenders visited.

• In 1997, Bill Clinton visited the South Bronx neighborhood Carter had visited, find a far different neighborhood.


The New Bronx• Area had been widely renovated by community

groups, with funding from City and Federal Authorities.

• Crime was considerably lower• Shootings down by 66%• Robberies and Assaults down 50%

• Property values were dramatically higher


Community Groups Make the Difference• Several nonprofit community groups took it

upon themselves to renovate the South Bronx.• Using over $1 billion in city funds, groups

turned the South Bronx into a safe, thriving neighborhood where lower-class persons could live in relative peace.


Take Home Lesson• The South Bronx should serve as an example

to naysayers that urban renewal is, with the right elements, possible and worthwhile.

Urban DoomUrban Doom

Four Waves of Urban Doom• Middle-Class Flight• Evaporation of Inner-City Jobs and Businesses• Outward-Creeping Blight• Social Implosion


Middle-Class Flight• The appealing features of suburbia (newer

facilities, lower cost amenities, etc.) draw the middle-class out of cities.

• Urban dwellers end up subsidizing suburban amenities.

• Race also plays a part, with whites leaving nonwhite neighborhoods.


Evaporation of Inner-City Jobs and Businesses• As an industry becomes more mobile, it will

relocate to where higher-skilled workers are.• Combined with Middle-Class Flight, this means jobs head to suburbia

• This results in a growing disparity which makes it hard for city dwellers to find good jobs they can easily get to.


Outward-Creeping Blight• Marginal communities between urban areas

and suburbs gradually succumb to urban blight.

• A slowly decreasing property tax base forces cities to choose between decreasing services or increasing taxes.

• Either option expedites Middle-Class Flight


Social Implosion• Middle-Class Flight causes demand for middle and

high income housing to decrease while demand for low income housing increases

• New lower-class residents require more social assistance and can pay less for it.

• Cities must raise taxes to pay for increased services.• Increased taxes cause more Middle-Class Flight, thus

starting the cycle anew.

Four Hopeful TrendsFour Hopeful Trends• The Grassroots Revival

• Community Development Corporations• Emerging Markets

• The Revitalization of Urban Economies• Public Order

• How Cities are Lowering Crime Rates• Deregulating the City

• Separating from Monopolistic Bureaucracies

The Grassroots RevivalThe Grassroots Revival

The Rise of CDCsThe Rise of CDCs

• Community Development Corporations (CDC) are private organizations, composed of concerned citizens, which take urban renewal into their own hands.

• CDCs are typically born from community dissatisfaction

• Successful CDCs are adept at working diplomatically with governments and private organizations


• CDCs are free or many of the restrictive procedures which governments suffer from.

• This makes them more adaptable and thus better able to initiate urban renewal.

• CDCs still require investment, both from governments and private organizations.

• CDCs also require committed individuals and strong leadership to be successful.


• CDCs are successful at a variety of functions for four reasons:

• They are true public-private hybrids• They become recognized anchors in their community• They live amid the consequences of their work• They embrace American values transcending political ideology.

The Rise of CDCsThe Rise of CDCs• CDCs have been successful all across the country, but

have not been the subject of a federal replication program.

• A lack of federal support• Helped CDCs develop creative fundraising practices• Freed CDCs from cumbersome political restrictions• Forced CDCs to start with smaller projects, which allowed them

to build momentum• CDCs were also relatively obscure in their early years,

preventing overwhelming expectations.

The Rise of CDCsThe Rise of CDCsTake Home Lessons• CDCs are a powerful tool in Urban Renewal• CDCs are proof that renewal programs do

not require, and may in fact be harmed by, massive federal support.

Emerging MarketsEmerging Markets

Keys to Market RebirthKeys to Market Rebirth

• Renewed Housing• Flow of Capital• Retail Revival• New Populations

Capital Flow and HousingCapital Flow and Housing

• Requires every bank to meet: “The credit needs of it’s entire community,

including low and moderate income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institutions”

• Anti-redlining strategy• Citizen participation in monitoring bank loans• 1990’s surge of mergers

Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) 1977

Overall ResultsOverall Results

• Improved relationship between banks and communities

• Low-income lending increase• Banks have benefited from investment

Credit Flow Credit Flow

• Community re-investment is the key to the economic mainstreaming of minorities and working class

Retail RevivalRetail Revival

Inner City Business Growth• Michael Porter and the Initiative for a Competitive

Inner City• Incentives for urban investment

• Pedestrian traffic• Large social magnets • Saturation in suburban markets

• Example: Harlem 1995, Pathmark supermarket

Helping Retail RevivalHelping Retail Revival

• Attract Business• Immigrant populations (Federal level)• Working age citizens and flow of goods and money

• Attention to public safety (Local level)

Take Home LessonTake Home Lesson

• Migration brings capital, capital funds housing, and the residency brought by housing supports a healthier, more vibrant retail market.

Public OrderPublic Order

Public SafetyPublic Safety

Crime in Cities• Youth crime boom in 1980’s• New Strategies found results in:

• Boston (61.2% fall in homicide rate)• New York (58.7% fall in homicide rate)

• Main new goal: Reduce people’s fear of residential and business investment.

Public SafetyPublic Safety

Broken Windows• Phillip Zinbardo 1969 study • George Kelling and James Q. Wilson 1980’s

application• Physical disorder= crime or flight• Broken Windows applied literally to housing

Police StrategiesPolice Strategies

• Community Policing• Builds connections between police and residents

• “Order Maintenance” Policing• Concentrates on crimes of menace

• “Problem Oriented” Policing• Concentrated on crimes that reach a critical mass

New York PoliceNew York Police

• 1986 Ed Koch• $4.2 Billion to ten years of housing building and renovation

• 1990’s Bratton and Giuliani• Precinct accountability• Harsh policing of subway system

• Commitment to petty crimes led to:• Bigger criminals• Safety on subway• Appearance of safety on streets

New York PoliceNew York Police

• New Technology• Compstat- Increased communication with neighborhood

residents• Bad publicity

• Cases of excessive force- Led to mistrust from minority communities

Boston PoliceBoston Police

• Police-Community partnership• Ten-Point Coalition

• Focus on youth• Incorporated all levels of community• Zero-tolerance applied to criminals and police force

Take Home LessonsTake Home Lessons

• CDC’s working with police- key to future of community policing

• Broken Windows • Works in both directions

• Disorder=cause and symptom• Shows what will not be tolerated• Shows that someone “cares what happens”

Deregulating the CityDeregulating the City

The Fall (and Rise) of The Fall (and Rise) of Public HousingPublic Housing

Most of you are afraid of our neighborhood.

But did you know? So are we.But we are here, you seeNot because we want to be.-Anonymous resident

• 1981: Mayor Jane Byrne moves in to improve the neighborhood

• 1 year after Mayor Byrne left• Homicides decreased by 25%• Aggravated battery decreased

by 40%• Robberies decreased by 75%

The Cabrini Green Experiment

The Fall (and Rise) of Public The Fall (and Rise) of Public HousingHousing

The History of Public Housing • 1930s: New Deal legislation

• Aimed to relieve Depression homelessness • 1940s: Housing Act of 1949

• Used as a slum improvement program• 1950s: Le Corbusier creates “vertical neighborhoods”

• Increased amount of apartments in each public housing complex• 1980s: Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (1981)

• Created priority categories for tenants• Rent must be 30% of tenant income


The Problems with Public Housing• Units are poorly managed• “The Projects” are isolated from the rest of the cityBlind housing assignments give tenants no choice

in where they live• Families pay almost 50% of their income in rent


The Solution: Demolition • HUD Hope IV (1995)

• Demolished 100,000 units• This is 7% of the 1.4 million units

• Congressional viability test• Complexes cannot have more than 10% of their units

vacant or they will be demolished• Complexes with more than 10% vacant units must

prove that renovation and operation of the units is financially viable


The Solution: Rebuilding• Replace demolished units with mixed

income and mixed use developments• Neighborhood improvements such as parks,

new businesses etc. • Involvement of community organizations,

private developers, and nonprofits


Take Home Lesson• It is urgent that the deconcentration of

poverty and social problems in public housing take place.

The Schoolhouse Door Opens…The Schoolhouse Door Opens…a Cracka Crack

The Problems with Public Schools • Discrepancies between city schools and

suburban schools are too large• City families are fed up and favor

alternatives


Community Based Schooling: Charter Schools • Publicly funded and accountable but independently run• Small classes and personal attention targets “difficult”

students• Students attending free up space in overcrowded public

schools• Difficult application process makes it a slow growing

movement


Private Subsidization: Vouchers• Experiments are dissimilar and small

• Milwaukee and Cleveland• There is conflicting data about success rate• It is too soon to gauge results


Take Home Lesson• The necessary steps to school reform are

not yet clear, but alternative community based policies seem to be the most promising.

Slipping the Welfare KnotSlipping the Welfare Knot

The Problems with Welfare• Federally imposed rules are indifferent to

local markets• Stigmatized status for recipients• Structure makes it harder to leave than to

stay for life


Federal Welfare Reform• 1996: Welfare Reform Act

• Imposes work requirements• 5 year lifetime limit for receiving public aid

• 1999: Number of Welfare recipients cut nearly in half• 60% found employment• Less than 30% returned to welfare


State Privatization: Wisconsin• Cut 100,000 cases to 7,700 cases in 10 years• Spends more money per welfare recipient than in the past

• Money now goes to job placement programs and employment counseling

• Offers incentives to keep people off welfare• Subsidized health care• Child care• Wage supplements

• One of the top 5 states in employment among welfare recipients


Take Home Lesson• Welfare reform is necessary, but some

softening of the time limits and adjustments for the least job ready are necessary

The “Third Way” in City The “Third Way” in City HallHall

What is the “Third Way?”• Created by British PM Tony Blair • Fuses the core ideals of both parties

• Rights and responsibilities• Promotion of enterprise• The attack on poverty and discrimination

• Also known as “triangulation”


• Early Pioneers• Ed Koch (NYC)• George Voinovich

(Cleveland)• Other Examples

• Richard Daly• Rudy Giuliani

• Practical programs• Decentralizing control

over public services• Improving quality of life

for city residents• Channeling investment

to the central city• Creates a broad political

center

The Role of the Mayor


Goals of the “Third Way”• Stop subsidizing sprawl• Conquer crime• Encourage investment in housing and business• Improve schools• Allow residents to plan and improve their own

neighborhoods


Take Home Lesson• The most successful metropolitan mayors

have embraced the "Third Way"

ConclusionsConclusions

• Urban Renewal is far from a hopeless proposition.

• Through public action and reforms both in the public and private sectors, an urban revival can be accomplished.

comeback cities: a blueprint for urban neighborhood revival by paul s. grogan & tony proscio a...

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