Philosophical Chairs

“ Living in this gentrification environment is much more difficult for residents. Actually what they’re doing is killing the indigenous culture”

-Peter Kwong

The Bronx Urban Renewal Plan

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Introduction

• 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 Bottom 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

The South Bronx: From the Bottom Up

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

The South Bronx: From the Bottom Up

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.

The South Bronx: From the Bottom Up

• 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 South Bronx: From the Bottom Up

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

The Grassroots Revival

The 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

The Rise of CDCs

• 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.

The Rise of CDCs

• 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.

Majora Carter

• http://www.ted.com/talks/majora _carter_s_tale_of_urban_renewal

Emerging Markets

Keys to Market Rebirth

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

Capital 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 Results

• Improved relationship between banks and communities

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

Credit Flow

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

Retail 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 Revival

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

and money• Attention to public safety (Local level)

Public Order

Public 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.

Police 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 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 Police

• New Technology– Compstat- Increased communication with

neighborhood residents

• Bad publicity – Cases of excessive force- Led to mistrust from

minority communities

Deregulating the City

The Fall (and Rise) of Public 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 Housing

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 Fall (and Rise) of Public Housing

The Problems with Public Housing• Units are poorly managed• “The Projects” are isolated from the rest of the

city Blind housing assignments give tenants no choice

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

Slipping 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

Slipping the Welfare Knot

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

The “Third Way” in City Hall

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”

The “Third Way” in City Hall

• Early Pioneers– Ed Koch (NYC)

• 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

The “Third Way” in City Hall

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

Conclusions

• 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.

Gentrification Plan

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ABOUT BCDI• The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI) is an innovative model for

urban economic development—the only model of its kind in the NY region

• Launched in 2011 following a year-long community engagement process led by Bronx-based institutions, grassroots organizations and civic leaders

• BCDI is working to create a network of employee-owned, sustainable businesses in the poorest urban county in the United States, where over 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line

STRUCTURE

BCDI is a community-led initiative whose members include Bronx residents and civic leaders representing community-based organizations and labor unions with strong ties to the Bronx:

•The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, THE POINT CDC, Mothers on the Move, Green Worker Cooperatives, the Consortium for Worker Education, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

STRATEGIC OVERVIEW• BCDI is designed to build capacity within the Bronx for development that puts

communities on a self-determined path to economic stability and ensures financial benefits are broadly shared

• Uses strategies and ownership models to establish better coordination between community assets (residents, businesses, institutions) and create the infrastructure to support new forms of targeted reinvestment

• Stimulates economic development defined by community engagement and participation

Community Enterprise Network

A network of anchors, community based organizations, community development corporations, and other support infrastructure with the capacity to plan and execute a borough-wide economic development platform for the Bronx.

STRATEGIC OVERVIEW cont’d

ANCHORS

CBO’s

BUSINESSDEVELOPMENT

FINANCE

GOVERNMENT

CDC’s

INITIAL STRATEGIC FOCUS

A key focus of BCDI’s initial strategy involves import substitution:

• Imports procured by Bronx residents and anchor institutions (hospitals, universities, major cultural centers) are replaced by goods and services produced locally

• Purchases from businesses outside the Bronx are redirected to new or existing Bronx-based employee-owned businesses—built to meet the needs of anchor institutions and support their neighborhood revitalization and environmental goals

• For-profit, employee-owned businesses are based locally and hire locally, strengthening the internal Bronx market and increasing the financial assets of workers

• BCDI companies promote green industry to the fullest extent

PARTNERS

BCDI Anchor Institution Partners•Montefiore Medical Center, Fordham University, The Bronx Zoo, the Botanical Gardens (the four largest employers in the borough), Hostos Community College, Bronx Community College and Riverdale Country School

BCDI Philanthropic Partners•The Rockefeller Foundation, Morgan Stanley Foundation, Kendeda Fund

BCDI Corporate Partner•Mondragon Cooperative Corporation

BENEFITS (1 of 2)• Builds capacity within the Bronx for community-driven economic development

• Creates new, living wage, green jobs anchored locally and develops new business leaders for stronger, more vibrant neighborhoods

• Anchor institutions realize a closer, customized and enhanced service

• Employee-ownership gives workers equity in their firms and creates genuine opportunity for low and moderate-income individuals to build wealth

BENEFITS (2 of 2)• Strengthens municipal tax base and prevents financial resources from “leaking out”

of the Bronx

• Sustainable, innovative, green companies have a competitive advantage

• New instrument for significant external financial investment into the Bronx, including opportunities for new business expansion or relocation

Cultural/ Tourism Anchor Institution

University/ Educational Anchor Institution

Health/ Hospital Anchor Institution

HOW BCDI WORKS (1 of 3)

HOW BCDI WORKS (2 of 3)• A collaborative community planning process designed by the MIT CoLab in

partnership with local organizations will establish an agenda and strategic capacity for economic development that responds to local needs and aspirations

• A training, development and education program created through a partnership between the Mondragon Corporation and community-based organizations will enhance business skills and capacity among the local workforce

HOW BCDI WORKS (3 of 3)• During the capital formation stage, business experts will raise start-up capital and direct

it towards a BCDI Enterprise Fund, the mechanism through which local entrepreneurs will have access to capital

• Through the creation of a BCDI Community Enterprise Network, BCDI will ensure that sufficient and appropriate technical advisory support is provided to promote business development and growth; the network will include CBOs, anchor institutions, employee-owned enterprises, financial and business service providers, workforce development and R&D

THANK YOU

BCDI 2013