Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Journal Entry
When I was reading some of the articles on the infrastructure issues in Baltimore, I ran across one about the dollar house program that took place in the 1980's. This program actually allowed residents in Baltimore to buy homes for a dollar and the renovations of the homes were financed by the city at an attractive rate. I find this quite interesting because a program like this may be the answer to decreasing the number of abandoned houses in the city. Not only will it increase the number of homebuyers, but it will revitalize the city. In addition, a program like this may even attract residents from other areas to move to the city. The local government would see huge profits from the renovation loans. Furthermore, a program such as this would give people who rent a chance to become homeowners during a time when banks are not as eager to finance loans to first-time buyers.
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I was reflecting on the topic of infrastructure and its relation to the City of Baltimore. Most of Baltimore's structural infrastructure is 50+ years old, depending on the distance and location from downtown. Many people are unaware that Baltimore has contracted with a private company to improve and maintain the fiber optic and other underground utilities that are not handled by BGE and Verizon. There is so much underground concrete piping that needs to be replaced, it usually has to wait until there is a break in the main. Financially, the city could not handle the cost of replacing or upgrading the structural infrastructure systems. This is probably the same scenario for at least most east coast cities, and that is why it is important that these cities receive federal funding specifically for infrastructure upgrades. Many cities have or are in the process of adding a new type of infrastructure, wireless technology. In these hotspots, you can access the internet on a wireless device for free. Other aspects of infrastructure that should be carefully looked at is assessment and planning. For instance, we could improve lighting and conserve energy if street lights were upgraded to LED's or HID bulbs since they have better illumination and use significantly less energy.
ReplyDeleteKiara -- this $1 for a house plan sounds interesting. I wonder how the city ran it? Did the people who bought houses have to commit to doing the repairs? I live in Reservoir Hill, and there are so many abandoned, crumbling houses there... I wonder if any of them were bought for $1 and then the person just lived in it cheaply for a couple of years and left?
ReplyDeleteI also wonder sometimes what it would take for the city to buy these abandoned properties and tear down the houses, so that the property could be turned into a park or a community garden?? Or my personal favorite -- a dog park! :)
I recently came accross an article concerning a subject I posted about last week, seizing neglected properties. I began to investigate the subject and found out that there is a law in Baltimore City that allows these neglected and vacant houses to be seized; the process is called receivership. Patterson Park is a community that has turned itself around by citizens obtaining and rehabilitating properties using this process.
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