Block by Block: Reclaiming Neighborhoods by Design

When residents abandon an area to crime, graffiti, or simple neglect, urban decay sets in. Successful modern grassroots urban renewal begins when determined neighborhood activists formulate a plan, and reclaim a neighborhood, block by block. Former Seattle mayor Charles Royer narrates this success story of three very different communities saved from the wrecking ball or a living death. Case number one is Sweet Auburn, a formerly rundown section of Atlanta boasting a rich African-American history (Martin Luther King Jr. was born and raised nearby). Rather than joining a flight to the suburbs, a few neighbors worked hard to renovate historic homes, and also build new affordable housing, using designs which made sense within the community. Revitalization of a popular old Curb Market and construction of a "studioplex" eventually brought back shoppers and provided a focal point where residents could sell their arts and crafts, with the upshot that, gradually, life returned to Sweet Auburn. A different environment is found near Trinity College (Hartford, CT), where once stately homes were transformed into crack houses, and the college itself was increasingly viewed as a remote, indifferent neighbor surrounded by squalor. Under a new Trinity administration, fresh ideas, college and government funding, and input from area residents, were combined to help create new housing and retail shops, with the jewel in the crown being a new educational "learning corridor" that has helped restore civic pride. The final case describes Denver's warehouse district in lower downturn, or "lodo," where historic preservation and commercial interests combined to refashion the district into a complex of pedestrian-friendly shops, lofts, eateries, and other attractions. Providing plenty of ideas, examples, and inspiration for city planners and concerned citizens, this is an excellent follow-up to Back from the Brink: Saving America's Cities by Design (VL-1/98) and The New Urban Renewal: Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods (VL-3/98). Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)