There is a good book by Ed Goetz from the University of Minnesota called "There Goes The Neighborhood? The Impact of Subsidized Multi-Family Housing on Urban Neighborhoods." There are lots of findings in the book that would be worthy of discussion, however one of the most interesting is on page 1 under Executive Summary. It says:
"We find that proximity to nonprofit-developed subsidized housing actually enhances property values at a rate of $.86 per foot...Crime data on fourteen nonprofit projects show that there were significantly fewer crime calls at these properties after their rehabilitation and conversion to subsidized housing...The tenants of subsidized nonprofit projects are less transient than other renters in the project neighborhoods." As a disclaimer, I served with Ed Goetz on the Central Community Housing Trust for several years. Although I personally believe there may be an imbalance and concentration of subsidized projects in certain areas, I think the reality of this kind of development should be discussed as much as the perception. Residents do have reasons to be concerned and the City must work harder at developing small area plans that communicate intentions clearly to residents. And zoning laws and regulations shouldn't become hit and miss and unreliable for residents because the whim of the council is tied to whatever happens to be the emergent crisis at the time. Russ Peterson St. Michael _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
