What is Redevelopment

"Redevelopment was intended to be a thirty-year process. Starting in the early 60's, it began about the same time President Johnson declared war on poverty. And today, we still have poverty. Nobody would have imagined that blight would have spread to suburban communities. Urban decay was thought to be an inner-city thing. Now, we still have to deal with it in suburbs, in decay infrastructure and rotting streets, and it will take another 30 years to see any significant changes."  - SEDC Project Manager (and my supervisor), Nancy Lytle

I've had a difficult time the past two weeks figuring out the meaning of redevelopment. What is it? Who does it, and how? Why is it done in the first place?

In very brief terms, will attempt to answer these questions. (Assuredly, these definitions will be revised and corrected in subsequent revisions.)

Redevelopment? - The process of undoing urban decay (blight) and strengthening existing neighborhoods.

How? - Redevelopment Agencies, which are essentially smaller organizations derived from municipal government, are given Redevelopmental powers to fix up broken neighborhoods.

One of these powers is an extended clause of Eminent Domain (ED). ED is formidable. Normally, ED can be used by the state to acquire property for the use of the public good. For example, if a new freeway must bisect a neighborhood, the government may force residents to relocate to somewhere outside of the neighborhood. This, of course, is not without immense costs, human conflict, politics (struggle), and time.

Interestingly, redevelopmental agencies may use ED to seize private property, but then immediately offer the taken property to commercial developers. This is very controversial. It is prone to incite people's emotions, as it lends to itself a potential environmental rife with favoritism or under-the-table dealings.

Landlords who habitually disregard their property (also known as slumlords), are universally seen to have a detrimental impact on the quality of neighborhoods* (assessment of quality to be discussed later). To me, so far, it seems that slumlords pose a difficult obstacle for the Redevelopmental Agency, as many landlord stubbornly refuse to change their practices or methodology.

Aside from eminent domain, Redevelopmental Agencies work alongside city planners, developers, and community leaders to promote improvements within the designated neighborhoods, or Area of Influence (see map). Recently, streetlights were install along the Imperial corridor (see old post). This was a long-standing task which may never have received funding, if not for the involved of SEDC.

Lastly, redevelopment focuses a lot on creating affordable housing. A significant fraction of the budget must be allocated to affordable housing. The idea behind this is that you can significantly improve a neighborhood without evicting its residents by making the place hospitable without being outside the price tag.

Why? - From a societal standpoint, not doing redevelopment would be immoral. It would mean accepting the status quo: that certain neighborhoods with lesser political and economic strength will never have the opportunity to revitalize. It means that certain segments of the population will have to live with crime and uncleanliness, with less access to quality produce or commercial goods, and generally to have less opportunities that benefit from modern society. Redevelopment is first and foremost a democratic proposition. It does not fit within the ideals of Libertarianism or Republicanism. This underlies many reasons why redevelopment is favored or disfavored.



*This is not necessarily the consensus among economists. I have read a prominent economist who argued in favor of slumlords. Cheaper rent, no matter how neglected the property is, can make it easier for low-income people to basically have a place to stay. On the contrary, it is argued that slumlords foster an environment of drug dealings, violence, gang warfare, and public indolence. We take this second argument to be the stronger case.