Holistic revitalization in small post-industrial cities : tools for urban housing development

For generations, housing programs have sought to utilize redevelopment projects to accomplish broader community revitalization goals. Contemporary affordable housing practice embodies this idea in large housing development projects, often funded through government programs such as HOPE VI. This "Conventional" revitalization is primarily based on experiences within the distressed housing projects of large cites, on the false premise that the impacts of redevelopment will be the same in a small post-industrial city as in a large, economically diverse one. Housing developers entering the context of a small post-industrial city must reconsider this idea. They must understand an idea of "holistic" housing revitalization that leverages the development process to make positive economic, physical, and psychological impacts that specifically address the specific challenges in these cities, such low civic capacity, poverty, low governing capacity, large immigrant populations, and an abundance of vacant properties. Fortunately these places possess inherent assets, such as walkable scale, historic architecture and cultural institutions, that present unique opportunities which position them to lead a national economic recovery through sustainable building projects. This report focuses on three cases of current, innovative housing development: * An industrial mill conversion that creates a new mixed use neighborhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts; * An adaptive reuse of a prominent hotel in Flint, Michigan that has sat vacant for 30 years into new downtown student housing; and * A new apartment community for single-parent, full-time students in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Real Estate

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Beam, Jeffrey (Jeffrey J.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lorlene Hoyt.

• Urban Studies and Planning.
• Center for Real Estate.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/58661

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/58661