Qualifying “Opportunity Zones”
One of the fundamental treacheries of the Qualified Opportunity Zones created by Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is that the limitless tax-break program, supposedly designed to spur economic development in distressed communities, merely transfers public dollars into the hands of real estate speculators who don’t tend to give a shit about actually improving the lives and livelihoods of the people who dwell in those zones – zones, for the most part, that were designated as QOZ’s because they already showed signs of revival. In fact, the entire scheme is designed to sweep out those residents to make room for more “prestige” projects.
Did we learn nothing from the failed Urban Renewal religion of the mid-20th century? Where is our modern Jane Jacobs, who in the 1950’s identified urban renewal for the destructive and socio-economically isolating force it was? Going up against architectural giants like Robert Moses and Le Corbusier, who championed urban renewal and enriched themselves in the process, Jacobs renounced the grandiose top-down policies that were reshaping cities. Jacobs saw the rot clearly. She saw that federal urban renewal money was actually making the situation worse; uprooting populations in the name of progress and destroying the social capital that made for exuberant neighborhood diversity.
To celebrate the launch of Urban Renewable we reread Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities, published in 1961. It’s a highly recommended read. “We need desperately to learn and to apply as much knowledge that is true and useful about cities as fast as possible,” Jacobs implored a half-century ago. She challenged that sacrosanct American idea that progress and growth is the only way to enable society to flourish. Yet, here we are again – with speculators and developers razing buildings with super-human efficiency and replacing them with mono-cultural same-same shininess that is as unwelcoming as it is exclusive.
We know that this is not progress and that if it is “growth,” it is only by means of the proliferation of what Jacobs’ called The Great Blight of Dullness.
The way we see it, the disaster of urban renewal, then and now, is the wanton destruction of diversity. To be more specific, (and to paraphrase Jacobs,) the disaster is the destruction of the intricate and close-grained diversity of uses that mingle in mutual support and contribute to the social, cultural, and economic energy of city life.
Urban Renewable re-imagines the city through the lens of resiliency and regeneration, with a focus on inclusion and the kind of diversity that supports and enhances urban life. Our development approach embeds environmental, economic, political, and cultural considerations into each and every project. Plunder, no. Profit, yes. People + Planet first.
We Declare:
That we have a say in the fate of our city.
That NET ZERO construction is not a cost but a long-term investment that will pay immediate dividends to the client, community, and planet.
That buildings should be designed to last a long time and be able to adapt to the future; to capitalize on orientation and materials to improve performance and preserve resources; and to contribute to the general good.
That every piece of real estate in Los Angeles is a place to take a stand.
ADDENDUM: Since we posted, the New York Times editorial board wrote a withering critique of the Trump Administration’s attempt to water down and corrupt the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. “Qualified Opportunity Zones” are among its most glaring perversions.
