"Can Anchor Institutions Save Midtown Detroit: Early Evidence from '15x 15' Initiative."_Vidal [conference paper] - 1 views

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  #1 Metropolitan Institute on 04 Jan 12

   

  Vidal, Avis. "Can Anchor Institutions Save Midtown Detroit: Early Evidence from '15x 15' Initiative." Paper to be presented at the annual conference for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 13-16, 2011.
  
  VIDAL, Avis [Wayne State University] a.vidal@wayne.edu
  
  
  Paper Abstract: Anchor institutions in distressed urban neighborhoods have become increasingly visible as agents of neighborhood improvement. The University of Pennsylvania is probably the best known example of such an anchor institution, but is by no means alone. As early as the 1950s, universities like the University of Chicago and Yale decided to make significant investments in their surroundings to keep them safe and attractive to mainly white students as the cities around them became increasingly black and poor. More recently, universities as varied as University of Illinois at Chicago, Trinity College, Howard University, and University of Southern California have committed to major investment programs. These institutions are attracting partners - including city governments and major foundations - who see them as key entries in the "short list" of major employers that are committed to remaining in the city and dependent on improved neighborhood environments to compete successfully. The Ford Foundation, the Casey Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, and CEOs for Cities are prominent among the supporters of what many have labeled the "eds and meds" strategy.
  
  This approach has now found its way to Detroit at a critical time in the City's history. Faced with massive abandonment and vast tracts of vacant land that the City cannot afford to serve, Mayor Dave Bing has launched the Detroit Works Project, which seeks to identify neighborhoods that can survive and thrive despite the wrenching economic restructuring facing the region and provide incentives to consolidate housing and investment in those neighborhoods. One such neighborhood is Midtown, home to Wayne State University, the Detroit Medical Center, and Henry Ford Health System, as well as to a host of major cultural institutions. The three lead anchors have launched the "15x15" initiative, which aims to bring 15,000 educated young people to live in the neighborhood by 2015. While the initiative was announced in 2009, recent receipt of matching funds from local foundations has stimulated each of the three anchors to create an attractive and well- publicized package of incentives to entice employees and students to live in the surrounding community.
  
  This paper will examine this initiative and assess its early performance. It will be based on interviews with key staff of the anchors institutions involved, their funders and advisors, realtors and developers with whom they have been working, and a sample of early participants. Key issues include whether the funds are fully subscribed (including the incentives to new home purchasers), how many individuals and households are affected, who takes advantage of the program, and whether the incentives are adequate to stimulate rental or purchase of market-rate dwellings.
  
  References
  David C. Perry and Wim Wiewel, eds. The University as Urban Developer: Case Studies and Analysis. (M.E.Sharpe, 2005).
  Judith Rodin. The University and Urban Revival: Out of the Ivory Tower and Into the Streets. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007).

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Vidal, Avis. "Can Anchor Institutions Save Midtown Detroit: Early Evidence from '15x 15' Initiative." Paper to be presented at the annual conference for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 13-16, 2011. <br /> <br /> VIDAL, Avis [Wayne State University] a.vidal@wayne.edu <br /> <br /> <br /> Paper Abstract: Anchor institutions in distressed urban neighborhoods have become increasingly visible as agents of neighborhood improvement. The University of Pennsylvania is probably the best known example of such an anchor institution, but is by no means alone. As early as the 1950s, universities like the University of Chicago and Yale decided to make significant investments in their surroundings to keep them safe and attractive to mainly white students as the cities around them became increasingly black and poor. More recently, universities as varied as University of Illinois at Chicago, Trinity College, Howard University, and University of Southern California have committed to major investment programs. These institutions are attracting partners - including city governments and major foundations - who see them as key entries in the "short list" of major employers that are committed to remaining in the city and dependent on improved neighborhood environments to compete successfully. The Ford Foundation, the Casey Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, and CEOs for Cities are prominent among the supporters of what many have labeled the "eds and meds" strategy. <br /> <br /> This approach has now found its way to Detroit at a critical time in the City's history. Faced with massive abandonment and vast tracts of vacant land that the City cannot afford to serve, Mayor Dave Bing has launched the Detroit Works Project, which seeks to identify neighborhoods that can survive and thrive despite the wrenching economic restructuring facing the region and provide incentives to consolidate housing and investment in those neighborhoods. One such neighborhood is Midtown, home to Wayne State University, the Detroit Medical Center, and Henry Ford Health System, as well as to a host of major cultural institutions. The three lead anchors have launched the "15x15" initiative, which aims to bring 15,000 educated young people to live in the neighborhood by 2015. While the initiative was announced in 2009, recent receipt of matching funds from local foundations has stimulated each of the three anchors to create an attractive and well- publicized package of incentives to entice employees and students to live in the surrounding community. <br /> <br /> This paper will examine this initiative and assess its early performance. It will be based on interviews with key staff of the anchors institutions involved, their funders and advisors, realtors and developers with whom they have been working, and a sample of early participants. Key issues include whether the funds are fully subscribed (including the incentives to new home purchasers), how many individuals and households are affected, who takes advantage of the program, and whether the incentives are adequate to stimulate rental or purchase of market-rate dwellings. <br /> <br /> References <br /> David C. Perry and Wim Wiewel, eds. The University as Urban Developer: Case Studies and Analysis. (M.E.Sharpe, 2005). <br /> Judith Rodin. The University and Urban Revival: Out of the Ivory Tower and Into the Streets. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007).</div>

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