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Feb
16
Are The Suburbs The Next Slums?
Filed Under suburban life
Photo by nathansnostalgia
Will suburbs in areas with high foreclosure rates end up being the next slums?
The Urbanophile spots an Atlantic Monthly article predicting that the subprime crisis will cause the ‘burbs to become the next battlefields of social decay.
The Atlantic Monthly has an article in its March 2008 edition (not online for some reason) called “The Next Slum”. Drawing on trends in urban redevelopment and noted foreclosure problems, especially in newer, starter home communities of cheaply built houses, this article claims that it is our auto-oriented suburbs on the fringes that are destined to become the next slums, while prospects for more traditional communities is looking up. While I think they overstate the case a bit, and minimize the ever shortening cycle of living and shopping trends, this is nevertheless an interesting article. If they don’t end up posting it online, it’s worth picking up a copy at the news stand.
When we were living in our old neighborhood, a house was abandoned — I think the family filed for bankruptcy and left without closing the door. Scrappers took out everything of value and neighborhood kids invaded the place. The police finally got someone to come out and secure the property — the lock on the front door had been removed!
I can see the lower end neighborhoods falling into disrepair, if they are hit with high numbers of foreclosures and end up with neighbors who don’t care about their neighborhood.
But, starter neighborhoods don’t have to decay into slums if people look out for their neighbors, as well as their properties. All it takes is a few proactive neighbors to keep an eye on buildings and be willing to bother the police to keep coming out to chase away vandals and others who would take advantage of vacant buildings.
The broken window effect is true. If you allow people to perceive a neighborhood is falling apart, it will fall apart. If people pull together to keep things tidy and orderly, it will make the opposite impression.
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2 Responses to “Are The Suburbs The Next Slums?”
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I also wonder about communities that were still being built when the “bottom fell out of the housing market.” For example, the Neumann Homes communities in Antioch and other towns have homes that are frozen in a state of partial construction. Thanks to the builder’s bankruptcy, those homes will not be finished until another builder comes in and takes over the work, which may take months. Meanwhile, these buildings have to be secured to deter theft like you mentioned in your post. Doesn’t exactly foster a feeling of a secure community when these empty buildings abound.
I don’t think the Neumann Homes communities are automatically fast-tracked for slumhood due to the partial construction, but this adds more challenges for the community to be vigilant and maintain their sense of community. My first thought when I heard of the bankruptcy was “I’m glad I didn’t buy a Neumann Home!” Think of what that did for property values for those that did.
Hi LC,
Having a partially built subdivision will be a huge challenge, but there are signs that the market is improving. Let’s hope that things are sorted out in the bankruptcy so that other builders can get into the Neumann Homes communities to finish building.