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Hi all, I hope this falls under "urban planning" and you could provide me with the info that I need. In my city, there are huge swaths of depressed/blighted areas. There are CDC's in place to help fight blight and I know the city tries the best they can to help, but the problems are just so widespread and there is so much blight that never gets taken care of.
I've always wanted to help take part in community improvements/beautification/cleanup, but it takes alot of time and more importantly, it requires funding.... stuff that I would be interested in doing would be cutting down overgrown plants/trees on vacant properties/land, picking up litter, cleaning up illegal dump sites, cleaning up graffiti, basically anything that helps clean up and improve the overall area.
Are there ways to monetize something like this? Because lets be honest, it would be a huge undertaking and would require TONS of time and effort to keep it going. Would this sort of stuff fall under "property preservation"? Would I have to start a non-profit and look into obtaining grants from the city and/or state? Hopefully some of you guys have knowledge regarding this sort of thing and can point me in the right direction!
Hi all, I hope this falls under "urban planning" and you could provide me with the info that I need. In my city, there are huge swaths of depressed/blighted areas. There are CDC's in place to help fight blight and I know the city tries the best they can to help, but the problems are just so widespread and there is so much blight that never gets taken care of.
I've always wanted to help take part in community improvements/beautification/cleanup, but it takes alot of time and more importantly, it requires funding.... stuff that I would be interested in doing would be cutting down overgrown plants/trees on vacant properties/land, picking up litter, cleaning up illegal dump sites, cleaning up graffiti, basically anything that helps clean up and improve the overall area.
Are there ways to monetize something like this? Because lets be honest, it would be a huge undertaking and would require TONS of time and effort to keep it going. Would this sort of stuff fall under "property preservation"? Would I have to start a non-profit and look into obtaining grants from the city and/or state? Hopefully some of you guys have knowledge regarding this sort of thing and can point me in the right direction!
I'm sure there are equivalent organizations in Cleveland that you could get in contact with. Talk with your local neighborhood organization/block watch. Or, if they don't know, contact your councilperson.
--edit--
I just reread your post, and I would assume a lot of this happens through the CDCs. Do they have work days, where volunteers are welcome to join?
I'd guess that the ultimate disposition of these blighted areas, as they are in every city, is a matter fraught with local politics. So if I wanted to do something about it beyond being a volunteer to pick up trash or the like, I'd go and start getting involved in the messy business of local (and maybe state) politics, doing everything from showing up and speaking out at all those boring city planning/CDC/EPA meetings, to letter writing, and perhaps deciding to even run for local office. Along the way you will meet up with like-minded people to form alliances with, and groups are always stronger in the public arena than individuals. So play the long game.
Another reason I say this because while you (or a neighborhood group) can clean up an empty lot or even raze an abandoned building, it's almost impossible IMO, to actually KEEP it clean and nice if there is no specific use for it. It's a lot easier to attract support for maintaining a vest-pocket park, a community garden, an urban farm, or whatever, than an empty lot--which will just attract more trouble. And to get a permanent land use, yes, you have to get comfortable and knowledgeable into local politics. I don't think there's any way around that.
Volunteers from the county jail. There are places where there are work gangs that are happy to be out in the fresh air even if they have to wear leg irons.
Volunteers from the county jail. There are places where there are work gangs that are happy to be out in the fresh air even if they have to wear leg irons.
Welp, that obviously isn't the case in Cleveland....
In some jurisdictions it is possible, if you have enough plitical clout, to become part of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. Improvement is paid for from increases in property taxes due to increased values.
In some jurisdictions it is possible, if you have enough plitical clout, to become part of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. Improvement is paid for from increases in property taxes due to increased values.
Not in reality though. What happens is the service costs increase with no increase in local revenue to provide those services. The "mortgaged" property tax revenue then has to be back filled from general funds. It works for a time, but eventually you get where California got and you're backfilling so many RDAs for so much money it's unsustainable and has to be shutdown.
California is now moving towards using TIF as less idiotic places do, like Denver, where it's used for infrastructure projects that actually provide a real public benefit rather than just giving pizza parlors and bars tens of millions of dollars.
In some jurisdictions it is possible, if you have enough plitical clout, to become part of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. Improvement is paid for from increases in property taxes due to increased values.
That can be risky; if you don't have as much political clout as you thought you did, you could get into a TIF you can't win.
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