Fostering Neighborhood Revitalization and Expanding Opportunity

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Fostering Neighborhood Revitalization and
Expanding Opportunity

• Presentation to
• City of Columbus Planning Department
• August 19th 2008
• Jason Reece, AICP
• Senior Researcher
• The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race
  Ethnicity
• The Ohio State University
• Reece.35_at_osu.edu
• www.kirwaninstitute.org

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Todays Discussion

• More on Kirwan and our Neighborhood
  Revitalization Research
• Neighborhood Revitalization in Columbus
• Trends, issues and conditions in Columbus
• Key Strategies/Principles for Neighborhood
  Revitalization
• Emerging Challenges

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More on Kirwan

• Background
• Community Development Work
• Opportunity Based Model of community development
• Moving people to opportunity building/nurturing
  opportunity in distressed neighborhoods
• Recent Neighborhood Revitalization Projects
• Land Bank Advising - Detroit
• Cleveland Regionalism and Equity Initiative
• The Columbus Foundation Neighborhood
  Revitalization Assessment
• West Baltimore Neighborhood University
  Initiative

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Neighborhood Revitalization

• General Issues/Concerns in all Projects
• Common challenges
• Concentrated poverty, limited opportunity,
  disinvestment
• Larger market forces are critical
• Movement back to the city gas prices and urban
  living ()
• Housing market trends foreclosures (-)
• Geographic context is critical
• Both within the city and when thinking about the
  region
• Language, Framing and Definitions are Important
• Avoid the terminology-concept of gentrification
• We still need to define successful (and
  equitable) revitalization

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Neighborhood Revitalization

• General Issues/Concerns (continued)
• Limited public resources
• Must be strategically used
• Must catalyze private investment/individual
  action
• Social/Organizational/Human capital critical
• Neighborhood leadership and technical capability
• Issues outside of the direct influence of
  neighborhood planning are critical
• Public safety (crime) and educational opportunity

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Neighborhood Revitalization

• General Issues/Concerns (continued)
• A combination of elements provide the best
  opportunity for revitalization

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Neighborhood Revitalization in Columbus Trends,
Issues Conditions

• Tale of two cities
• Old Columbus vs. New
• In the Central City (Stable-Revitalizing vs.
  Challenged)
• Common challenges across neighborhoods
• Housing quality
• Vacant property/foreclosure
• Economic development/poverty
• Public safety/education
• Infrastructure needs/public spaces (parks)

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Tale of Two Cities Old vs. New Cols.
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Tale of Two Cities Revitalized vs. Challenged
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Neighborhood Revitalization in Columbus Trends,
Issues Conditions

• Macro level issues
• Columbus is a relatively healthier region than
  its regional peers
• Although statewide housing and economic
  challenges may be reducing this condition

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Neighborhood Revitalization in Columbus
Challenges and Needs

• Stakeholder observations
• We must successfully define what revitalization
  is to successfully inform strategies.
• The process of resident engagement is critical --
  many neighborhood residents do not feel engaged
  or like real partners in the planning process and
  redevelopment activities.
• Gentrification is a real threat in some areas
  redevelopment should not force out residents
  proactively thinking about efforts to avoid
  widespread displacement early is critical to
  avoid this threat.
• Social inclusion and equity (fairness) for local
  residents must be part of the driving goals for
  revitalization.
• Reinvestment activity must be focused on the long
  term (long term goals, multi-year).

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Neighborhood Revitalization in Columbus Trends,
Issues Conditions

• Stakeholder observations
• Local capacity building Local organizing
  capabilities and capacity were identified as
  critical ingredients to effectively guide
  redevelopment initiatives and to engage local
  residents. Although local organizing and capacity
  is crucial, most respondents felt that this
  capacity was disorganized and in need of
  significant additional resources. Several
  examples were noted
• Scale up issue not enough funds existed  to
  build on successful programs and initiatives.
• Connection / information sharing Not enough
  networking to share best practices and success
  stories among local organizations.
• Community organizations and representation
  critical, but existing organizations are
  stretched and lack sufficient resources.
• Park , open space and public meeting spaces were
  critical to help build community and spur
  community engagement, but these resources were
  lacking and often not maintained in most
  distressed communities.
• The most significant hurdle for local
  organizations is moving from an all-volunteer
  organization to funding permanent staff.

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Neighborhood Revitalization in Columbus Trends,
Issues Conditions

• Several existing programs and neighborhood assets
  were identified as beneficial and critical to
  promoting revitalization.
• Historic character of housing stock is critical
  in determining suitability for revitalization,
  historic housing stock was a crucial asset to
  spur revitalization
• The Mayors Home Again program and Neighborhood
  Pride programs  were often identified as key
  assets to promoting revitalization in distressed
  communities
• Systematic code enforcement was often mentioned
  as a critical tool to address the physical
  neglect in distressed communities

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Potential for RevitalizationInput from local
stakeholders
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Strategies for Success

• Define success before intervening
• Equity fairness and inclusion must be an
  explicit goal
• Adopt a long term approach
• Adopt a multi-faceted approach
• Network and support existing local civic
  organizations
• Engage critical stakeholders such as the
  universities, urban hospitals and major employers
• Focus on turning point neighborhoods
• Bring small success to scale
• Address specific macro level issues
• Support establishment of anchor
  institutions/developments
• Make catalytic investments

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Strategies for Success

• The need to think in a long term and
  comprehensive manner were summarized by Jonathan
  Fanton, President of the MacArthur Foundation, at
  a recent LISC National Leadership Conference last
  year.
• sustainable neighborhood improvement requires
  long-term, simultaneous investment in all the
  issues-schools, housing, health, jobs, economic
  development, safety, community cohesion, and
  more-that must improve together in a reinforcing
  virtuous circle. Practically speaking, this may
  mean applying a comprehensive lens and working
  first on the few interventions with the greatest
  potential to stimulate further change.
• Quote taken from remarks made by Jonathan Fanton
  at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation
  (LISC) National Leadership Conference, October
  3rd 2007, full remarks available on-line at
  http//www.macfound.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?
  clkLXJ8MQKrHb1137397ct4498087

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Strategies for Success

• Improving local organizational capacity
• Assist neighborhood organizations in their
  attempt to scale up to an efficient,
  well-resourced organization with trained and
  dedicated staff
• Support an intentional, inclusive networking
  effort among existing organizations, so that they
  can share best practices and cut costs by
  minimizing the learning curve
• Improving educational opportunities
• Create new educational opportunities in
  distressed areas new outlets for educational
  opportunity are needed in distressed communities
• Address early education issues for children in
  poverty, work on in-school reforms to promote
  positive educational outcomes

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Strategies for Success

• Economic development
• Small business/Minority business development. 
  Targeting reinvestment in traditional commercial
  corridors.  Workforce/labor force training and
  development. Public transportation investments.
• Housing initiatives
• Aggressive and strategic land banking. 
  Foreclosure prevention activities.  Encouraging
  market rate housing, homeownership and mixed
  income development.  Supporting historic
  preservation. 

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Strategies for Success

• Expanding basic services
• Provide access to affordable/healthy food.
• Provide support for community or park space.
• Promoting public safety
• Support community policing activities.
• Anti-poverty initiatives, redevelopment and
  vacant property mitigation to address crime. 

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Emerging Challenges

• The escalation of the national housing/foreclosure
  crisis is going to create new challenges in many
  of these neighborhoods.
• Hitting on the fence neighborhoods
• Undermining re-investment/spurring vacancy
• Undermining community organization/capacity

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Thank you!Please check out our Foreclosure
convening in the fall (Oct 2nd and 3rd)

• Questions or Comments Reece.35_at_osu.edu