Though it has essentially become a fundamental and characteristic staple of urban living, urban renewal is still accompanied by conflict each and every step of the way. The conflict so inherent to urban renewal is most often propagated by two groups intrinsically at odds with one another: local community residents and big businesses. Their clash often seems to stem from a basic difference in perspective. Urban renewal projects are generally embarked upon with the intention of both personal and communal enrichment, yet, simultaneously, the politicians and businessman usually driving the project tend to ignore the thoughts and needs of the community already in place.
Interestingly enough, this struggle was more or less exemplified in recent years by the uproar over Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards Project in Downtown Brooklyn. The project began with a brief promise by Frank Gehry, the architect-in-chief, to “build a neighborhood from scratch,” apparently brushing off the existence of the well-rooted community already there. Community activists soon got up in arms and implored Forest City Ratner to develop the neighborhood, not destroy it. Aided and subsidized by the New York City government, the developers eventually, and inevitably, prevailed.
The circumstances in Downtown Brooklyn typified the general conditions of many urban renewal projects. Forest City Ratner poured obscene amounts of money into developing the neighborhood, and they paid displaced residents nearly 2.5 times the market value for their homes. But the subsequent gentrification forced out many other community members as well, including those not accounted for by the city politicians and developers. The neighborhood development drove rent through the roof and tore apart many tight-knit, decades-old communities.
At its core, urban renewal has become a trade-off between money and prestige, and the fostering of protective, united communities that can prove instrumental in the development of our children’s minds and ideals. It is a sad, unfortunate truth, but, as we have all come to learn, money talks. And everyone else remains silent.
