One of the main problems is that there are many economic and legal obstacles when dealing with abandonment. As we have seen with this whole housing crisis, obstacles are always difficult to deal with and often lead to fraud and more issues.
What solutions can be found for the abandonment issue? How can the community get involved? What should the government be doing to solve this issue?
Well, mostly it has to do with the community because why would anyone set up their business in a dangerous place? Also, will the business' profits exceed their costs once the owners set up their business? It's all about the community. Example of this situation would be the Northside.
ReplyDeleteAbandonment occurs when the costs of a property exceed its worth or the income of its owner.
ReplyDeleteThe community must ban together to figure out how to best handle abandoned properties in order to meet their needs. Local government programs can work with communities as facilitators and financiers.
It is an issue for community but it is hard to ask for straight financial support from one member of the community who is doing well to another who is failing and likely to abandon their home. Increased taxes that go visibly and fully to public works, better community centers, etc. are one option; another is the creation of community groups to which people can donate time and/or money to try and improve the area they live in. Either way, planning, careful thought, and community involvement need to go into solving the abandonment issue- simply throwing money at it won't work.
ReplyDeleteSocial problems is related with poverty. Hence, instead of spending more money on security, some strong policies should be adopted for poverty.
ReplyDeleteEnvironmental problem can be dealt by fixing-up the property. But if the cost of fixing the property exceed what it is worth then demolition is the only solution.
I think one of the major ways to solve the abandonment problem is to first come up with a well thought out detailed plan. I think a lot of times we come up with a quick plan to try and solve the problem and the plan has flaws and never seems to tackle the true root of the problem. Also we often just push the issue to the side and blame it on someone else and do nothing to try and fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteThe part of the article that really stuck out to me was this quote.... "abandoned residential structures are a waste of resources. This waste is particularly cruel when the scarcity of affordable housing is an important issue for some sections of the community, as it is in the case of groups such as the homeless"
ReplyDeleteIt seems so ridiculous to me that we have such a huge housing surplus right now and yet tons of people who are homeless or can't afford a home (even an inexpensive one). The programs listed in the article, like the tenant interim lease program, make a lot of sense. Also, when people are secure in their housing they are better able to invest in a community which can solve a lot of the issues the article mentions....social atomization in particular.