Neighborhood Revitalization

Historical Evolution

The preference of households for urban as opposed to suburban living became an important topic in the urban literature in the last quarter of the twentieth century and has led to controversy over its motivations and consequences. Such a preference was contrary to the suburbanization trend that started after World War II and became widespread, particularly in U.S. cities. During the 1970s, however, a reversal of this trend occurred as households with unconventional needs and tastes looked for opportunities to settle in cities. In some cases, this happened simultaneously with reinvestment in central business districts, meant to strengthen them in the competition with suburban malls.

The phenomenon of neighborhood revitaliza-tion manifests itself in different ways, and various terms have been used, with each considering a different aspect. Among these, back-to-the-city movement emphasizes the role of households' preferences and implies a reverse movement toward cities; incumbent upgrading focuses on the physical improvements of buildings, referring particularly to those cases where the original property owners undertake the work; and gentrification implies, together with physical upgrading of the neighborhood and the improvement of services, a considerable transformation in the social and economic composition of the neighborhood in favor of a higher-income population. Neighborhood revital-ization focuses more on the physical and environmental improvement side of the phenomenon rather than the motivations behind these interventions and their social and economic implications.

As the above terms also indicate, neighborhood revitalization has a number of dimensions. First is the presence of a building stock with architectural character and potential for renovation. Second is the enthusiasm of households to live in inner cities and their willingness to invest in upgrading their properties. The third aspect is the availability of public policies and subsidy programs that encourage investment in older buildings and that facilitate the involvement of various actors, individual and institutional. The fourth is the existence of a dynamic property market into which renovated properties can easily be integrated.

...