Adaptive Reuse

The most successful, long term, low-income housing projects are those that use sustainable design and address the social, cultural, and economic needs of residents. Traditionally built low-income housing projects are associated with high crime rates and high mortality rates among the residents who live in them. They do not provide for the needs of residents, resulting in many of the problems these low-income housing projects face today. These problems range from endangerment of human life, psychological afflictions due to the high stresses that are endured by residents, disease epidemics caused by overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions (in combination with a substandard public

In Baltimore, the abandoned houses allowed investors to buy the houses and turn them into luxury condominiums and houses. In turn, this encourages other companies to continue to develop condominiums and houses and abandon the development of low-income housing. This cycle is called gentrification, but it is disguised as restoration to the city

Research questions. There is little doubt that unsafe, abandoned structures and vacant lots trigger expenditures by municipalities, either directly or indirectly, and result in lost revenue. However, less certainty exists about the relationship between crime rates and the conditions of neighborhoods as expressed by abandoned buildings and vacant lots. The research questions are: (1) Do abandoned properties actually attract criminals and contribute to social

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the “largest public housing authority in the nation” (Developments, 2015). In existence since 1934 (About NYCHA: NYCHA at 70, 2015), NYCHA is a low to moderate income public housing initiative consisting of 328 developments throughout all five boroughs of New York City. More than 400,000 residents benefit from these developments through the receipt of not only apartments but additional services provided by each development and New York City overall. Over recent years the NYCHA developments have been experiencing a reduction in government funding, forcing the organization to re-evaluate strategies addressing maintenance of old buildings (About NYCHA, 2015).

During the past few years, gentrification has been on an uprise.“Nearly 20 percent of neighborhoods with lower incomes and home values have experienced gentrification since 2000, compared to only 9 percent during the 1990s.” Gentrification is happening in areas that supposedly need a change, such as the low-income neighborhoods in New York City, Minneapolis, Seattle and Washington, D.C.Factors such as uniqueness, accessibility, the energy of the neighborhood and reasonably priced homes attract gentrifiers. It has altered many cities in the country. Gentrification can be defined as the procedure of reestablishment and remaking due to the flood of prosperous individuals into falling apart and low-income areas that frequently displaces poorer

Millions of people move around The United States each year. A total of, “7,628,000 moved to a different state” (Avrick). Of those seven point six million, thousands move to the state of Michigan. Some people move to be closer to the great lakes for fishing, boating, or jet skiing. Even though Michigan is a fine state to make a new home in, there is a city in Michigan that movers might need to venture from. This city is the city of Detroit. Detroit is not one of the best moving decisions for just about anyone. There are many problems in the city of Detroit that might cause movers to reconsider moving there.

Although a rapid phenomenon, the process of gentrification initially starts at a slow pace. According to Biro (2007), “When low income houses are renovated they reach a higher quality and therefore are marketable to buyers who can afford to pay a premium for homes with better quality characteristics.”(p. 42) The individuals who cannot cope with the gentrification process due to

With the impact and push from 1949 Housing Act, the Pruitt-Igoe housing development in St. Louis, Missouri and other high-rise public housing of 50s and 60s became the pioneers of urban renewal movement, and most of them have long recognized as a prototype for the failure of public housing and constantly for well-intentioned governmental policies in general. This essay will look back beyond the impression of the collapse, focusing on exploring the temporal, social, economic and legislative issues, which led to the failure and final death of the public housing.

Low income housing areas, especially public ones, across the country are in very bad shape and are a hotbed of crime because of their design. In Knoxville, Tennessee, where I am a Patrol Lieutenant, half of the public housing was built after World War II for returning soldiers and is in very bad shape. The designed was closed in and packed as many residents in as possible, which attracts crime and prevents emergency personnel from entering in an efficient manner. Some have been torn down because of poor conditions, but many still remain. The Knoxville Community Development Corporation would like to replace all of the older design developments, but money is the issue as in many other cities.

The act’s other major provision, Title III, authorized $1.5 billion to finance the construction of 810,000 units of public housing and another $308 million to help pay the difference between the cost of the projects and the rents of the low-income tenants. The Housing Act of 1949 initiated a surge of building projects that reshaped urban politics and planning across the United States. Although the actual assumptions for public housing fell short of the goals set forth in the law, the act made public housing an important part of the urban redevelopment program. The provisions for subsidized slum clearance and rebuilding were even more popular with city officials who used them to replace slums with both public and private housing, stadiums, and even parking lots. In the 1960s, urban renewal was targeted for discriminating against minorities, since it often resulted in minority-heavy slums being destroyed and replaced with more expensive housing or non-residential public works that were not accommodating to the original inhabitants. Unknown at the time was that the removal of slums for high-rise affordable housing would lead to their failure and further exacerbate the already prevalent urban crisis.

The abandonment is further shown in the documentary, “Roger and Me” where we see the beginning of the decline of the neighborhoods of abandoned homes.

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Los Angeles Union Station began as a thought in the early1900’s but it was not until 1933 that construction began based upon the plans of Parkinson and Parkinson, a father and son team. With the collaborative efforts of many designers, such as Herman Sachs and Warren Hoak, construction was completed in 1939. The only major structural changes made since then have been the massive semi dome on the east side, and an office complex that was added in the 1990’s.

The mixture of buildings of different conditions are necessary to public life because it otherwise would be neither interesting nor fascinating. But the main reasons are because they ensure low rent yields, encouraging the growth of small enterprises. Large swatches of new construction would only prevent income since not many would afford it, and the demand for it would not be as large as it would need to be.

Contractors find alternative ways of transforming them into buildings that will make an impact on the public. By using their expertise, they would be able to transform these used containers into something useful and beneficial. These containers would provide them the opportunity to acquire more projects and earn profit and of course achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Through this, contractors are also able to add value to these containers that have once been unused. Extending the life of these discarded materials and providing affordable infrastructures to the people is a complete viable approach.