Restoring Prosperity

Harbor Point takes a big leap forward
The Stamford Times, June 26, 2008
The approval and final adoption of an agreement between the city and the recently created Harbor Point Infrastructure Improvement district passed in an overwhelming 30-1-3 decision. This approval is the first step in revitalizing Stamford’s South End, bringing a waterfront hotel, new residential office and retail space, and 11 acres of public parks.

In This Issue: 

-Older Industrial Cities Dealing with Mortgage Crisis
-Cities Sue Banks over Foreclosed Properties
-House Reauthorizes Hope VI
-Restoring Prosperity Case Study
-News Articles
-Reports and Studies

Older Industrial Cities Dealing with Mortgage Crisis

Cities across the country continue to deal with fallout from the mortgage crisis, which has dealt an especially difficult blow to many older industrial and struggling urban areas. According to RealtyTrac, the cities with the three highest foreclosure rates for Quarter 3 of 2007 were Stockton, CA; Detroit, MI; and Riverside-San Bernardino, CA all cities highlighted by the Brooking Institution’s Restoring Prosperity report as ‘struggling cities’ even before the mortgage crisis.  High foreclosure rates can have devastating effects on the metropolitan economy, including large financial losses for regional banks, increases in vacant properties, reductions in government revenue, and increases in homelessness.

States and local governments working to mitigate the effects of the mortgage crisis have passed policies including: placing a moratorium on foreclosures, requiring banks to maintain vacant properties, funding homeowner counseling and refinancing programs, and using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding for mortgage assistance.  For example, Massachusetts now requires a 90-day review period for foreclosures and New York is considering legislation to place a one-year moratorium on foreclosures.  For more information on several state-led strategies, click here.

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In early 2008 President Bush proposed a federal budget that cuts funding for a number of critical programs that help revitalize communities, provide transportation and affordable housing choices, and protect the environment. Some of these funding cuts include:

• A 22% cut in funding for the Community Block Development Grant program, from $3.87 billion to $3 Billion;

• A decrease in funding for Amtrak, from $1.325 billion to $800 million;

• A 10% cut in funding levels for the Department of Transportation; and

• The complete elimination of funding for the HOPE VI housing redevelopment program, Section 108 loan guarantees, and Brownfields redevelopment.

Perhaps most shocking is the Bush administration’s budget proposal to transfer an estimated $3.2 billion from public transportation funds to highway projects to solve the federal transportation system’s financial woes. If approved, money for new trains, bike paths, sidewalks, and light rail could be eliminated.

Please take a minute to urge your Congressional members to prevent cuts in funding for these important programs. Click our action button, and you can find a letter to send to your Congressional members, urging them to restore funding for these important community development programs in this year’s budget cycle.

Visit Smart Growth America’s detailed budget analysis, and to read more details from Northeast-Midwest Institutes’s website, click here. You can look up your House representatives here and your Senators here.