The CEOs for Cities blog flags a growing question in community redevelopment: Is our common wisdom about revitalizing lagging cities actually true? The entry builds on this article in the Boston Globe, questioning the perceived success of Lowell, Massachusetts, which has long been a model for other efforts nationwide.
Says the Globe:
On key economic indicators like income growth and job creation, the city differs little from other ex-industrial cities in Massachusetts, according to a series of recent studies. Poverty in Lowell has gone up substantially since 1980. And despite its “renaissance” reputation, empty storefronts still dot Market Street, one of downtown’s main drags. Lowell’s national reputation is fading, say urban planners and community development analysts, as the city’s impressive face lift has failed to yield the expected gains for the working class.
The city’s efforts to repurpose old mills and warehouse buildings into condos and to invest in big-ticket community items like arenas and performing arts did have some impact on its desirability for Boston commuters. But seem to have little measurable impact on the full range of its residents. The researchers suggest that job training and basic skills development for lower-income workers would have had a greater impact.
The folks at CEOs for Cities make the larger point, that saving a city from a lagging industry past isn’t a matter of picking one strategy over another:
Sadly, solving those problems requires more than a physical transformation and upscale housing. But strategies for upgrading workers’ skills and conversion of factories to housing and commercial development are not mutually exclusive. It’s not as if preserving the factories would make the manufacturing jobs return. Urban leaders have to learn how to tackle both strategies at once and take them both seriously.
It’s an argument worth watching for any cultural facility that claims positive impact on its surrounding neighborhood or its struggling downtown.
Andrew, here are two blog postings that point to a few classic and seemingly well-researched ways to revitalize a city. First, http://www.facilitatedsystems.com/weblog/2007/08/jane-jacobs.html points to Jane Jacobs’ book directly on that subject. I think she’d argue for a mix of uses, of which the performing arts could be a vital one but not by any means the only one. She wanted to see a mix of uses that kept sidewalks busy throughout most of the day and night; that argues for activities such as small business during the day, restaurants at meal times, art and music in the evenings, and so forth. She also argues for a diversity on most demographic scales, as I recall, which keeps the mix high and fosters safety in the city. Her book referenced in that posting is eminently readable.
In http://www.facilitatedsystems.com/weblog/2007/06/counterintuitive-behavior-of-social.html and in his book Urban Dynamics, Jay Forrester argues the advantages of letting (small?) business drive renewal. In his arguments, if you bring in low-cost housing, you attract people without giving them a way to be self-supporting, and that leads to more poverty. Figure out a way to create jobs in the city, and that will bring in enough people to support the jobs but not more than those jobs can support.
How does that relate to the arts and music? For one, it might suggest ways the arts and music can avoid doing things that are counter-productive. For another thing, things the arts can do to increase diversity (in people in the city, in times the city is used) might be very productive. Figure out ways to employ city residents. Get people involved and thus moving in the city at varied times during the day, not just at evening concert times. Appeal to a broad range of audiences to create a web of connections to various groups.
Just a few early-morning thoughts.
Re Urban renewal.
1.It doesn’t seem to work in the US. In Europe, they have GREAT public transit systems so a few blocks can be used just for foot traffic. It works for them.
2. My purchasing power has nothing to do with whether there are flower baskets or not. I do have to be able to find a parking place though.