Helping Inner City Residents Help Themselves

Guest blog by Myron Belej, MCIP, AICP

Our inner cities are often marked, characterized and blighted by older, deteriorating houses; higher crime and fire rates; lower incomes; disempowered residents; an array of higher costs; and a need for marketable job skills.

Yet as large as these problems appear, the situation is far from hopeless.

Imagine an initiative whereby we train and empower our citizens to fix their own neighbourhoods. Our more progressive cities should take the lead on what I call “Trades-For-Citizens” programs that address all of the above issues, and support every citizen’s right to safe, stable housing.

What Needs Fixing?

Our inner city housing stock has been neglected far more than it ever should have been. Devoid of resources, these homes have fallen into states of disrepair and now face problems like structural issues, flood damage and high fire risks.

These problems can often be fully addressed, or at least mitigated, with basic-to-intermediate skills in plumbing, electrical and carpentry trades.

Let’s not forget that, historically, many families and communities built their own homes. In rural areas, many still do. But in our present day cities focused and raised on mass production, our youth are no longer taught these comprehensive building skills in school; they’ve been taught to depend on and hire an array of “experts,” from engineers to financial planners—even for the smallest of projects.

Inner city families struggling to make ends meet tend to lack the income needed to hire these "expert" tradepersons. Too many also lack the resources to obtain a trade education and purchase the materials to repair their homes themselves. If they have an unresponsive landlord, the challenges can be compounded by having limited options and abilities to improve living conditions.

Who Can Help?

Multiple resources exist to launch a Trades-for-Citizens program, but these resources are often disconnected from one another and from the larger issue of neighbourhood stabilization. A coherent strategy is needed to link people to these resources.

Several cities already have workforce training programs. Many colleges and trade schools have the infrastructure (professors, classrooms, tools, equipment, materials, etc.) to train students. We could introduce trade programs back in to public schools, especially urban school systems that serve primarily disadvantaged students. Several related scholarships and grant programs already exist to support this—they’re just waiting to be tapped.

The downturn in the economy has left many tradespersons out of work.  A Trades-for-Citizens program could leverage these un- or under-employed workers to train inner city residents; in return, the supervisor gains management experience that could help him or her move into higher positions within the industry. Many opportunities for sponsorship and funding support from foundations are available for goodwill and civic improvement initiatives such as this.

Where?

School systems and neighbourhood associations that have buildings in need of repair can be offered as “teaching environments” to show eager students of all ages how to tackle home repairs in a real-world setting. In turn, these community spaces will be structurally upgraded and can be better utilized for neighbourhood activities.

Vacant and foreclosed properties can be used as testing and teaching grounds as well. Each one offers unique challenges to be solved, unique opportunities to learn. 

And with cities all moving forward with sustainability agendas and recycling movements, a growing number of “re-stores” and “architectural clearinghouses” are starting up, with (gently) used building materials – such as doors, handles, baseboards, and scrap lumber – for sale at reduced costs. Some are run as independent businesses. Others are supported by non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity.

These “re-stores” can become hubs in the inner city, perhaps eventually growing in to gateways for other community services.

“Re-stores” can help inner city dwellers access building materials to improve their homes – materials that would otherwise be unaffordable. People who offer to help extract usable materials from neighbourhood homes undergoing renovation may even be able to get reusable materials for free.

Who Can Participate?

Basic to intermediate home repair skills are valuable life skills that should be taught to anyone who has the time and interest to learn them, especially in inner cities where the need is so great.

Residents who develop and hone their repair skill sets, with enough practice and experience, may eventually get to a point where they feel comfortable offering their services to others at an affordable rate; perhaps even to pursue further education and profession certifications in one or more trades.

There are opportunities for people with the full range of abilities. More able-bodied community members can be a big help on projects requiring heavy lifting or the use of equipment such as jackhammers. Patient citizens with lower mobility may be well-suited to updating electrical switches. And youngsters with nimble fingers and agility can help to run and connect new plumbing lines in tight corners and cabinets. 

Who Benefits?

The entire community would benefit from the "Trades-for-Citizens" concept. Here's why:

It’s well known that a deteriorated housing stock can debilitate entire neighbourhoods. Vandalism surges, squatters occupy vacant homes, fear and crime rates increase, property values decrease, residents lose hope and the downward spiral continues. 

But renovating homes in neighbourhoods like this, especially home exteriors, creates noticeable, positive physical changes in the urban landscape that change public perception and can help stabilize entire communities.

Moreover, increased community interaction leads to renewed civic pride. Empowered residents with new skills improve their ability to help themselves economically and socially, as well as their families, friends and neighbours. Before long, flower boxes will be blooming and crime will decrease as neighbours begin looking out for one another.

Indeed, the city benefits as well. As delinquent properties come back on to the tax rolls, the city reaps the benefit of a higher tax base. The same is true for properties that experience an uptick in value due to their renovations. Lower crime and fewer fire hazards will reduce strain on our often over-committed police, fire and emergency services.

Municipal governments that benefit from these cost savings could then, theoretically, choose to offer reduced or waived fees to inner city residents who complete home improvements requiring permits and inspections.

As the proposed “Trades-for-Citizens” program shows, there’s a host of ways we can be working with our inner city populations to empower them and improve their neighbourhoods. Especially in times of financial difficulty when every dollar counts, we need to be actively seeking and testing cost-effective and creative ideas such as these to make significant positive changes in our urban areas.

To hear more about Myron's ideas, visit http://www.cityplanner.ca or on Twitter @ifixcities.

BY Guest Blogger on December 14th, 2011

TAGS: cities | workforce | jobs | housing | community development