DEI Lens Taints All
Submitted by anonwonk
Urban renewal projects have long been regarded as essential drivers of economic growth and social development in cities. Do they work? Ask St. Louis. We still try them. In the 2020s, these projects face a significant challenge. City governments, driven by a growing concern for racial equity, will hinder the implementation of urban renewal initiatives. An excessive obsession with this goal will lead to unintended consequences, such as obstructing the very projects that are designed to revitalize urban areas. Let’s look at one such attempt and explore how the racial equity obsession can handcuff and block urban renewal projects in the 2020s.
Baltimore is a dump. It is undeniable. Decades ago, Baltimore offered vacant homes for $1. The buyer had to stay in the home for many years and received tax abatements. This caused a turn around in the targeted areas. It helped create the nice Inner Harbor atmosphere. This was considered a success. Not anymore. Your lying eyes tricked you. Few people gained and nothing improved! The program ended despite success and eager buyers. People want to restart this program, but you guessed it, it does not address racial inequities. Baltimore wants billions so that they can effectively pay every single thing black residents might run into to fix up a home because of equity.
Cities try different approaches to the vacant housing issue. Some cities set up land bank auctions to sell homes abandoned and in arrears on taxes. Individuals bid, buy and fix. It has turned around entire neighborhoods. The spoils go to those who try, those with some saved up money and those with hustle. Agency. As a veteran of the process from the government side, I witnessed small firms, individuals and corporations enjoy flipping properties, buying to own and buying to rent. All races and religions participate.
This is not good enough for Baltimore. Getting a house for $1 and being responsible for $50-100K in fixes is too much. What no one is asking is why the black middle class has no interest? What of recent black college graduates that staff Baltimore and Maryland’s government? There should be enough potential buyers there with the means. Baltimore DEI activists want a government paid for program of zero risk and any upside for their clients becomes a windfall. It is pure redistribution.
The emphasis on racial equity creates a conflict of interests between the goals of urban renewal projects and the objective of addressing supposed racial disparities. City governments face pressure to allocate resources solely to projects that directly benefit marginalized communities, potentially neglecting the broader revitalization efforts needed to improve entire neighborhoods. If equity is the sole metric, no program is going to pass the hurdle especially a program that could be smeared as gentrification. There will be too many non-blacks eager to sign up for a $1 home to fix with a lot of elbow grease.
This comes down to money, too. Urban projects require major financial investments to achieve objectives. However, city governments, driven by racial equity concerns, may be compelled to divert funds from these projects to address immediate equity-related issues. Those issues have nothing to do with items such as sewer and electrical infrastructure and property remediation. While addressing equity is vital to Democrat run cities, diluted funding for urban projects can result in incomplete or stalled efforts, leaving communities without the benefits of revitalization. Don’t worry, their appointed activists will complain.
Forget money for a second and dive into the municipal request for proposal process. Heightened racial equity concerns may lead to stricter regulations and approval processes for urban renewal projects. Add in metrics of racial composition of any contractor and perhaps bias towards certain applicants. While regulations are necessary to ensure fairness, an excessive burden of red tape and bureaucratic hurdles will delay projects. Delays can drive up costs, deter private investors, and diminish the effectiveness of these initiatives.
Baltimore is an extreme example but this is the straight jacket all Democrat cities are in for the near future. DEI, equity, whatever that is beholden to the racial obsession measurements is going to handcuff any programs to fix the cities. These urban renewal projects will fail as they did decades ago. But New York did it? Sure sure, they did it with a few big fixes in the ‘90s. The real fix is impossible in Baltimore and other cities today. No city is capable of implementing the Giuliani-Bratton fix. Without that, cities like Baltimore might lure in pioneers with houses for $1 but that will just save them money to spend on the future UHaul or funeral.