The Tribune`s recent series on ”New politics of poverty” made some worthwhile points about the necesssity of overriding special local interests if we are to achieve major urban improvements. In my opinion, though, the demolition of 900 lakefront public housing units is not one of them.
Numerous studies show that many low-income tenants living in high- and mid-rises are eminently satisfied in London, Paris, Copenhagen, Toronto, Jerusalem, New York and San Francisco. Even Chicago has many successful publicly subsidized, privately operated high- and mid-rise buildings. Clearly, if decently managed with a modest percentage of three-bedroom units (for larger families) and with careful tenant selection as well as eviction policies in which tenant committees share responsibility, high-rise units can be more than merely satisfactory. Moreover, they do not cost appreciably more to operate than low-rises; and, significantly, rehabilitation costs the taxpayer between 50 percent and 80 percent less than tearing down an old structure and rebuilding.
Most important, the claim is made that only if the present lakefront sites are torn down and replaced by low-rises with fixed income and racial occupancy will private investors go to the surrounding area. I have checked this with several big developers and have been assured that this is not in any sense correct. On the one hand, I have been told that without a subsidy it will be virtually impossible to find any developer who can finance housing or commercial services in the surrounding area, irrespective of whether there is a new low-rise or rehabilitated high-rise project on the site. On the other hand, with a proper subsidy private development money could easily be forthcoming irrespective of whether the lakefront sites are new or
rehabilitated.
What is recognized as absolutely essential to the success of any public housing project is the tenant selection and eviction process, carefully monitored by a vigilant Chicago Housing Authority buttressed by an aware tenant committee plus cooperative federal officials, a helpful press and a wise court system that allows the CHA to build and maintain a new image. Of course, coupled with this is the redevelopment of the whole area with housing, schools and shopping centers.
