Sunday, July 2, 2023

TURNAROUNDS TAKE TIME

GREAT CITIES DO NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT

CREATING PLACE AND PROSPERITY REQUIRES PATIENCE

Great cities do not happen overnight. 

Paris once barely extended beyond an island in the Seine. 

Skyscraper delirious New York was developing so slowly that city leaders couldn’t fathom much more than farms and country estates north of lower Manhattan.

Just as great places evolve slowly, it takes time to restitch the fabric of a neighborhood or corridor. 

Whether the area lost its way or never quite had an identity and purpose, creating place and prosperity requires patience.

The bad news is that mayors, commissioners, council members and other elected officials often want magic bullet, quick fixes that are impossible to execute. 

The good news is even if an old neighborhood is hamstrung with abandoned buildings, vacant lots, lost jobs, substandard housing and widespread poverty, it very likely still has the DNA to rebuild around.

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