ypsi~dixit

This report details 20 prominent examples of those failures that fall into two categories. The first kind occurs when, after cities and developers condemn homes and businesses to make way for private redevelopment projects, the promised projects never materialize. The second kind of failure involves projects that, although completed, simply do not live up to the grandiose promises and lofty projections that were used to justify the abuse of eminent domain. For example, the new developments eventually fold, or, even if they survive, they produce fewer jobs and less tax revenues than promised—sometimes less than before the project was built. Quite often, the public’s financial costs—in the form of new debt, subsidies, other spending and foregone revenues—go through the roof.

bureaucrats and developers with big visions of how other people should live claim that the use is necessary for economic development. They promise glitzy development in the name of more taxes and jobs. There is a strong incentive for cities and developers to over-hype the benefits of private development projects involving eminent domain in order to garner political and public support. But it turns out that many of these projects are failures.”

Norquist, who was Milwaukee’s mayor from 1988 to 2003, devoted much of his energies to helping the city recover from failed redevelopment projects

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Oct-16-Sat-2004/news/24974947.html

from that article:

"In fact, it appears there are more places to pray, get a car repaired or purchase alcohol than anywhere else in the valley. If a neighborhood's health was based solely on the concentration of churches, auto garages and liquor stores, West Las Vegas would be thriving."

The natural environment is extremely important. The report says: "Not surprisingly, if a person can locate anywhere, he or she will go where there's a pleasant climate and beautiful scenery." Our beloved open space needs to be protected.

Heck yes - what can we do to get Norquist (as in John, the President of the Congress of New Urbanism, not Grover, the tax-and-service-cutting zealot) to move to Ypsi? I'd vote for him for name-of-office-here in a second.

Water St., (Saint Water? Is that you?), I'd hazard a guess that you're pretty thoroughly pessimistic about the Water Street redevelopment here in Ypsi. "the promised projects never materialize", and, "simply do not live up to the grandiose promises and lofty projections".

At this point, I'm inclined to say that mistakes may or may not have been made in Water Street's past - I don't know; I haven't been in Ypsi long enough - and it definitely hasn't gone as planned. Hopefully, though, it's back on track - if a different track than Biltmore's - with a new developer and different plans. At this point, I'm personally not going to spend time crying over stuff that happened before I got here; I'm interested in being a little more forward-looking.