Revitalizing Our Cities

Photo by Matt BrownDesolation and desperation are partners in cities that have felt the effect of disinvestment and distracted priorities.  As America continues to reel and rock from our current economic crisis, job recovery is slow and unsure, we find it difficult to rebound from this economic shock.  Cities are facing daunting challenges.  School districts are closing or consolidating schools, private sector job and business creation is moving at a snail’s pace and the local government is overwhelmed with a shrinking tax base, unfunded state mandates and is grappling with union contracts and health care payments that are too costly to maintain any fund balance to make investment in neighborhoods. 

Ripple Effects

The global economy has ripple effects in American cities and has forced many governments into survival mode.  New York State Legislature has not passed its budget due April 1, 2010 for a number of political reasons; nonetheless, they continue their dysfunction at the peril of the constituents who elected them.  Our state is facing a daunting multibillion dollar deficit and it’s not clear as to the strategy to overcome this present danger.  Making cuts on the backs of the working poor and the trapped unemployed are not decisions that leverage our highest and best use of our collective intellect.

One Neighborhood at a Time

Absent from the conversation of politricking is a credible strategy on revitalizing cities one neighborhood at a time and focus on building those neighborhoods from the inside out.  Our challenge to espousing a strategy is the fundamental breakdown of what we refer to as a neighborhood.  In certain sections of America’s cities, you will find more “hoods” than “neighbors” and that unfortunately is the bedrock of how you build communities…you must build people.   Urban decay and suburban sprawl have collided on the road to nowhere and have produce collateral damage of gross inefficiency of resources, increase government, increase taxes and a dilution of middle class, creative class and working class citizens who deserve more from themselves, their neighbors and elected officials.  Our cities did not die overnight, they will not be revitalized overnight; yet, the conversation around strategy is eerily missing from the public discourse.  In addition to the voiceless discussion around revitalizing cities is the conversation around what’s happening inside of homes, neighborhoods and communities.

Until we can revitalize people with purpose, vision and passion to pursue and perfect life, our investment in brick and mortar will be futile.

Values, Principles and Integrity

A serious focus needs to be placed on revitalizing individuals around values, principles and integrity. Neighborhoods can be developed with manicure lawns and picket fences; yet without a internal heart transformation of the neighbors it will be increasingly difficult to sustain pristine communities.  Families are at the core of neighborhood viability. Maybe, just maybe, if we redirect comprehensive planning dollars for subdivisions into parent training, literacy programs, violence prevention and community organizing we will be able to boast about great communities to live in.  Until we address the people problem, we will always have neighborhood challenges.

The book of Nehemiah offers to our generation proven strategies to revitalize cities and rally a nation toward their “shall be” by navigating them from their “situation” to their “manifestation”.   The Nehemiah strategy for revitalizing cities included: a commitment to the city, a partnership with the king, an honest assessment of the work, revitalizing the people, mourning the devastation, developing a strategy to repair the walls, obtaining buy- in from the people, ignoring the detractors, be willing to fight for the wall, celebrate incremental steps, demonstrate audacious faith, stay focused and complete the task. 

Cities across America are turning vacant industrial land and abandoned urban sites into parkland using it as a method for economic development.  Other examples like;

A river runs through it
Chattanooga, Tenn., began the process of revitalizing parts of its downtown and environs in the 1980s. The turnaround for Chattanooga took a long time, but the city had a long way to go. In fact, Chattanooga in the late 1960s was known as one of the dirtiest cities in the United States. The Tennessee River running through the city was anything but scenic and was bordered by buildings abandoned by industries that had left town.

Through a process called Vision 2000, a 20-week series of community meetings that sought citizens' input on the city's future, Chattanooga began its comprehensive revitalization plan. The ambitious strategic effort involved more than 800 Chattanooga citizens. Over time the group considered hundreds of potential revitalization programs, but they eventually narrowed their emphasis to projects centered on the Tennessee River.

Revitalization efforts
In the Southeast, a number of cities have undertaken revitalization efforts. Some have turned to entertainment complexes and attractions. Others, more recently, have worked to include housing in their downtown districts, believing that it is difficult for a city to have a successful downtown area without full-time residents. But revitalization projects are complex, with no easy answers or guaranteed results for cities. In the Southeast, revitalization efforts have achieved mixed success.

One size doesn't fit all
Many people argue that the economic health of an entire region depends on the economic performance of the central city's downtown area. Others, however, argue that a downtown area is not in the least important to the overall economic health of a metropolitan area. Whichever view one supports, there is no argument that cities continue to place importance on their downtowns, striving to find ways, either through refined processes or shotgun approaches, to improve those areas.