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The current process of redeveloping vacant properties in the City is not effective. The large number of vacant lots in neighborhoods like Upper and Lower South Providence persists despite efforts like the Mayor’s Vacant Lot Task Force (& Report). The problem of vacant land in Providence is extremely complex touching on a wide range of issues from tax reform and land speculation to grassroots organizing and affordable housing. In order to stir momentum and spark significant redevelopment efforts, a more effective process for redeveloping vacant land must be implemented. And where better to begin this process than with vacant land that is sitting in the hands of the City or City-run agencies such as the Providence Redevelopment Agency. If the City can move their own lots into productive reuse it may act as a catalyst for future investment and innovation in the redevelopment of many other lots that are privately owned and abandoned. The four major problem areas within the current system of redevelopment (redevelopment goals & community input, tax policies, lot assessment, and resources) highlight the areas that I feel, with changes, can have the greatest impact in moving redevelopment forward. One of the most challenging issues impeding current redevelopment efforts is the issue of tax policies at the State and Municipal levels. Tax reforms in the form of new legislation and basic understanding of current tax laws, can play a tremendous role in revitalizing vacant land and neighborhoods. The fact that anti-sprawl organizations such as Grow Smart Rhode Island have attributed so much of sprawl’s problems to decaying urban centers – and vacant land in Providence especially – should indicate to City officials the urgency and significance of the issue. Meanwhile the Mayor sets his sights on redevelopment projects that draw visitors downtown blighted and vacant properties in surrounding neighborhoods decrease the quality of life for residents and continue to bring down the value of land in Providence’s neighborhoods. The revitalization of the City needs to be founded on the viability of its neighborhoods as much if not more so than its downtown area. The Mayor spoke about "ensure[ing] that all Providence neighborhoods are safe, healthy and pleasant places to live" at the Livable Providence 2000 Conference in October of 1999 but since the Vacant Lot Task Force in 1997 few resources (money, staff, policies) have been directed at vacant lot redevelopment. Pressure from local representatives and community-based organizations can push the issue to the forefront but ultimately the Mayor’s Office and the City government in general must make some significant investments, financially, legislatively and administratively in order for significant strides to be made in the redevelopment of blighted land. This is a lesson we can take from looking at communities in Boston like Roxbury and Dorchester that faced similar problems with redeveloping vacant land. In their case, it took a bold move on the part of the Mayor (granting eminent domain to allow taking large tracts of blighted land) and a large infusion of financial and administrative capital from a long-term grant. An equally bold attempt is needed in Providence for the equitable and effective redevelopment of vacant land. |
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by Ana Baptista
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