This exercise will look at how the City of Hope will develop a master plan for the next 30 years. The City of Hope is a vibrant, environmentally responsible, and affluent community. Though the majority of the city has prospered tremendously over the past 30 years, it still has one district, Justice, which has been plagued by crime, neglect, poverty, and environmental problems. This neighborhood sits directly on the river Faith and served as the site of the former manufacturing and industrial base of the city more than 100 years ago and historically had been an immigrant neighborhood. Justice consists primarily of a series of abandoned buildings, empty lots, and a deteriorating environment.
As part of the Master Plan, officials in the City of Hope have been granted the following powers and directives to determine the future of Justice in an effort to gentrification and revitalization of the area:
The power of eminent domain to declare abandoned and neglected properties as dilapidated thus requiring the city the power to seize them in order to rebuild the district.
The city has also come to an agreement with private firms—that are still in business–that did pollute the area to cover all costs involved with the clean up based on all future profits as well as based on past court rulings. Additional environmental costs are to be covered over the next ten years through federal/state matching grants to remediate all additional environmental problems within the district. To fully cover the costs of the match the City must make up additional tax revenues from this project in order to have a sustainable clean up fund to cover the environment costs of maintaining this area of the city.
To revitalize the area, the city will work with private developers who will build a new town center for Justice. This would include luxury condos/apartments, corporate offices, and a retail/commercial/shopping square. The city also plans to build a major hospital in the area to help serve the needs of the community. Developers have agreed to cover the costs of the plan associated with building their part of the plan, the city will be responsible for upgrading public infrastructure projects (e.g. sewers, roads, telecommunications, etc.) associated with the plan. To fund these additional infrastructure costs, the city has issued revenue bonds over 20 years to investors; revenues are based on future tax ratables associated with the completion of this project; taxpayers are on the hook for any obligations the city is unable to meet (if revenues fall short of expectations).
The plan is expected to bring 200-1000 new jobs to the area through construction, service, and retail sectors. It is expected to increase the market value of all properties in the district—including raising rents and real estate prices. The program is also expected to provide additional funding to the elementary and middle schools in the area through increased government revenues from the project.
The redevelopment plan is to transform Justice into a district that mirrors the socio-economic features of the rest of Hope in terms of economic growth, single family homes/affordable housing, park and open space, medical care, schools, and environmental quality (air/water). Currently Hope is ranked as one of the most desirable small cities in which to live in the country. Income levels rank in the top 10% of the state and on average the real estate market (rentals and purchases) is about 30% more expensive than other comparable small cities in the area. In terms of population, the city is more diverse than other small cities in the state.
Affordable housing would be reduced in the Justice district in order to accommodate the growth of single-family homes and luxury condos/apartments. Approximately 2/3rds of residents in Justice live in either state sponsored affordable housing or in apartments that have rent levels at the equivalent level.
Table 1 provides a summary of the socio-economic characteristics of the City of Hope and the District of Justice.
Table 1: Current Socio-Economic Statistics for City of Hope and District of Justice
Hope
Justice
Percent School Age Pop.
30%
45%
Percent Minority
10%
88%
Average Rental (2 bdr)
2500
$534.00
Unemployment Rate
4.2%
15.8%
% on Gov. Assistance
8.2%
85.0%
Per Capita Violent Crimes
2.1
14.8
Affordable Housing
9%
76%
Median Income
$75,000.00
$15,000.00
Avg Education Level
14.5
7.4
Median Home Price
$235,000.00
$27,000.00
The major element of the Master Plan is the allocation of “resource points” based on various quality of life issues for the community. The allocation of these points indicates how important each category is to the community’s quality of life:
Employment opportunities;
Quality of housing
Education
Medical care
Water and air quality
Aesthetic qualities (trees, parks, etc)
Table 2 provides the current allocation of “resource points” for the City of Hope and the District of Justice. Based on the proposed Master Plan, decision-makers are able to allocate an additional 35 points to the District of Justice based on future growth that is projected to occur as a result of the major changes envisioned in the plan. These resources points transfer directly to various efforts to revitalize Justice listed in the overview section of the plan—e.g. building luxury condos/apartments, single family homes, employment, environment, etc.
Ten resource points for any given category, such as housing, “buys” the most desirable element with that category; seven “buys” an acceptable level and is the average; five and below “buys” below average. For example, 10 may mean large, new private homes, 7 decent apartment buildings, and 5 and below public housing and tenements.
Table 2: Planning for City of Hope and District of Justice
Current Resource Points for City of Hope and District of Justice and Proposed Changes to Justice (Addt. 35 pts based on Plan)
Hope
Justice
Proposed
Employment opportunities
10
4
9
Quality of housing
10
4.5
8
Education
10
4.5
8
Medical care
8
1
10
Water and air quality
9
2
8
Aesthetic qualities (trees, parks, etc)
10
0
8
Total
57
16
51
The City Council meeting will focus on the proposed allocation for Justice and what is required of the Master Plan in order to achieve this goal. Reaching these proposed metrics will require trade-offs, societal shifts, and changes to the environment. NOTE THIS TABLE WILL IMPACT ALL RESIDENTS EITHER POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY IN JUSTICE AND WILL LIKELY HAVE A POSTIVE EFFECT ON ALL OTHER RESIDENTS OF HOPE. The debate over these proposed changes is the focus of your simulated role—either for or against and your ability to negotiate or to influence others who may be deciding the allocation. TO DETERMINE HOW THE RESOURCE POINTS ARE ALLOCTED YOU NEED TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING WELFARE FUNCTIONS OUTLINED BY WEIMER & VINING. THE TABLE BELOW PRESENTS THE MATRIX IN WHICH YOU CAN USE TO DETERMINE EACH OUTCOME.
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Ulitiarian
Rawslian
Multiplicative
U1
U2
U3
U1+U2+U3
Min (U1,U2,U3)
Multiplicative (U1 x U2 x U3)/1000
Policy A
Policy B
Policy C
Choice
The primary goal of the planning committee is to gentrify the neighborhood through a mixture of encouraging economic growth, cleaning up environmental degradation, and to build luxury condos
Furthermore, typically poor and minority communities lack political power, resources and experience to fight the placement determined in the Master Plan. As dramatic changes occur to the district often with the promise of jobs, growth, and revitalization, communities are forced to choose between fewer jobs (hence continued poverty) on the one hand, and the Master Plan which proposes risks to their families, and those living in the vicinity. This is a cruel choice and often the reality that we face on a day-to-day basis.
