Based on my observations as both a professional and community organizer across numerous projects, I’ve come to realize that community revitalization is not a fixed point but a continuous cycle of improvement and renewal. Similar to ocean waves, there are peaks and troughs, and the best place to be is on the uphill slope of the wave. The sweet spot lies between a community facing blight and disenfranchisement and one that is overly gentrified, with its own set of problems like unaffordable housing and intense development pressure.
Community events at South Salt Lake’s central park.
1. The Trough
The obvious downside of being at the low point revitalization lifecycle is that you’re dealing with systemic and endemic problems such as low quality of places and spaces, crumbling infrastructure, love property values that does incentivize reimbursements in places. Negative internal and external community perception fueled by crime and general poor appearance of a place. On the positive side these places are likely to have very low property values are very likely to have affordable although most likely low quality housing. Places like this are ripe for reinvestment–they have a lot of potential.
2. The Swell
Then there’s the magical place of community revitalization, that probably has several different phases within itself. But is generally speaking a great place to be whether you are a resident a community organizer or a government official. This is the place with increasing returns. People are reinvesting in their place and places in big and small ways. People start to find common grounds and coalesce around a sense of place and identity and shared mission and vision for the potential that their community has. At the grassroots level you see things popping up like tactical urbanism and block parties and eventually farmers markets and festivals and community gardens he start to see once flighted in the structure being cared for and rejuvenated.
The Platforms Landscape in Ogden was a tactical urbanism intervention, creating momentum for the Nine Rails Creative District Master Plan.
3. The Crest
Then there’s the magical place of community revitalization, that probably has several different phases within itself. But is generally speaking a great place to be whether you are a resident a community organizer or a government official. This is the place with increasing returns. People are reinvesting in their place and places in big and small ways. People start to find common grounds and coalesce around a sense of place and identity and shared mission and vision for the potential that their community has. At the grassroots level you see things popping up like tactical urbanism and block parties and eventually farmers markets and festivals and community gardens he start to see once flighted in the structure being cared for and rejuvenated.
This image shows the Junior League of Ogden volunteering at the Oasis Community Garden.
4. The Break
congratulations! You have officially arrived at the perfect idealize revitalize community! Whatever that looks like for you! Pretty much all of the properties and land has been reinvested in redeveloped read finalized. Property values are soaring! Tax revenues are up! Things couldn’t be going any better?! Or could they? The tricky thing with this phase in the community reinvestment lifecycle is that things look great on the outside! But what you don’t see are the pitfalls of communal revitalization. These are specifically high property values and high rents that are leading to housing on affordability. Workers at the lower end of the income spectrum can no longer afford to live in your community. They have to commute in from outside. Continuing development pressure much like the wave that has broken on the shore, the water now recedes back to the ocean.
We created this sketch to inform what an activated urban core could look like in growing South Salt Lake City, Utah.
Generification, Gentrification
Congratulations! Your community has ‘made it’, with reinvested properties, high property values, and increased tax revenues. However, beware of the pitfalls: soaring property values and rents can make housing unaffordable for lower-income workers, forcing them to commute from outside the community. Like a wave that has broken on the shore, the water now recedes, signaling the need for balance and sustainable growth.
The key is to get the ball rolling on community reinvestment, start building momentum, and then ease up on the gas so to speak. Relax on the top down approach, and let the momentum that you’ve built carry your community forward.
