Distressed Neighborhoods

What czb does

Develops public and private sector strategies to remarket the neighborhood as a 'buy low' opportunity for owner-investors

Context

• Residents who can leave, DO
• Non residents shun the neighborhood socially, politically and otherwise

What czb does

Develops strategies to tackle the numerous and dominating 'push' elements that thwart re-marketing efforts; code enforcement for instance

Context

• Supply is over-abundant. The few investment opportunites that are consummated (matching supply and demand) tend to by highly speculative (commercial), or if residential, 'flip-oriented' in nature and attractive to slumlords.
• Real estate values (acquisitions) or cap rates are well below regional median
• Not even 'urban pioneers' have the stomach to invest here, unless there are severely mitigating locational rationales known to exist
• Almost total racial homogeneity
• No threat of residential or other gentrification
• Usually a plethora of low-income housing

What czb does

Develops organizing and leadership skill building efforts to expand the resources of residents to manage change and the changes that result from threats.

Develops ways to break vicious cycles of social and economic disinvestment

Context

• Neighbors lose nearly all fights against threats; most threats, though, go unchallenged
• Most problems linger; by lingering new 'norms' become established, norms that impact image and market negatively
• Little reveals the degree of care needed to grow these neighborhoods into the next tier. A resulting 'prisoner's dilemma' of self-fulfillment ensues

What czb does

Analyzes a community's physical assets and other stock in their inventory, and develops revitalization strategy to increase the quality of the built environment; focus in on strategic use of subsidy

Context

• Properties are characterized by social and economic disinvestments
• Almost no properties can generate enough equity to leverage reinvestment 
• It does not make economic sense for outsiders to invest in this neighborhood
• It does make social sense for insiders to invest in this neighborhood