The Neighborhood Interest in a City's Recovery

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the proposition that city neighborhoods can fare better under policies that promote a city's recovery than they can when recovery is not an objective, and that the greatest benefit may be expected in neighborhoods that have severely lost residents and commercial services. Depleted neighborhoods are the natural arena for a recovery undertaking. Lest readers suppose that this article is something which it is not, it should be said at the outset that an undertaking to achieve a city's recovery—at least in the rigorous definition used here—is not known to me. In the absence of an example that can be appraised, support for the proposition must be sought in an analysis of circumstances and potential policies that would make a recovery undertaking practical. The potential policies depend upon a set of related ideas which could benefit from further development and refinement (to which it is hoped interested readers will contribute) and above all from tests in particular neighborhoods in several cities. Foremost among these ideas is that of recovery itself. Others which will be elaborated in due course are compatible redevelopment of depleted neighborhoods, the changing nature of cities as expressed in changes in hospitality to different kinds of employment, and finally strategic planning as an alternative at neighborhood and city levels to both comprehensive planning, on the one hand, and single-purpose planning, on the other. Although precision is not possible, depleted neighborhoods, as referred to here, will be distinguished from other kinds.