The New Normal
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
the WAGNER PLANNERSpring 2013 devastation frustration disruption panic anxiety pain worry devastation disbelief displacement vulnerability debris consequence politics pollution bureaucracy collapse blackout flood THE NEW NORMAL community participation trust salvage renewal conservation manage connect create prepare organize community give efficiency integration learn relocate replan prevent contribute partnership THE NEW NORMAL the WAGNER PLANNER VOLUME 11, ISSUE 1 APRIL 2013 CHIEF EDITOR ALAN LIGHTFELDT ASSISTANT EDITORS CHRIS PENALOSA, CONTENT VRUNDA VAGHELA, DESIGN 4 FORECLOSURE: 6 PLANNING FOR GROUND ZERO THE NEW NORMAL 12 LIVING ON THE EDGE BY DANI ROSEN BY RAE ZIMMERMAN BY RONNIE HUTCHINSON 5 RIDE OUT OF POVERTY 10 (RE)MAKING IT BY STACI HABER RIGHT BY JACKIE BURTON 2 THE WAGNER PLANNER IS AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT JOURNAL OF THE URBAN PLANNING STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (UPSA) AT THE ROBERT F. WAGNER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY. 16 THE GREATEST AGE OF 14 IN THE WAKE OF URBANIZATION: AN INTERVIEW HURRICANE SANDY WITH RICHARD FLORIDA BY NOLAN LEVENSON BY ALEJANDRA RANGEL SMITH 15 COURTING DISASTER 18 THE BROOKLYN BY THEA GARON TECH TRIANGLE BY ADAM ECKSTEIN the WAGNER PLANNER 3 Foreclosure: Ground Zero a look at how foreclosures affect middle-income families BY DANI ROSEN, MUP ‘13 York City: it has an extremely high percentage of 114 individual lots on four St. Albans of detached single-family homes, widespread blocks from January 2005 to August 2012. With thousands of foreclosures or families car ownership, and low population density. The market value for homes is currently an living in negative equity it can be difficult While the average homeownership rate in average of 20 percent below the market to narrow down the impact of foreclosure New York City is 32 percent, 77 percent of value in January 2008, with some properties on a single subgroup. However, different St. Albans residents own their homes. Of as much as 40 percent below peak value. income groups were impacted in drastically these, 26 percent own their homes outright, Out of 114 parcels, 112 parcels experienced different ways. Research on the impacts of and of the 74 percent with a mortgage, 29 a decline in value between 2008 and 2010. foreclosure to middle-income homeowners percent have homeownership costs of less is still quite thin. In order to get a better than $2000 per month. The high rate of The number of homeowners at risk of understanding of how the foreclosure crisis homeownership and concentration of long- foreclosure in St. Albans is particularly has impacted middle-income communities in term homeowners brings greater stability striking. In 2011, the Neighborhood New York City, we take a closer look at one to St. Albans than other neighborhoods Economic Development Advocacy Project middle class community in Queens that was in Queens. Although the length of time monitored the 90-day pre-foreclosure notices ground zero for foreclosures: St. Albans. residents have owned their homes in St. that servicers must send to homeowners with Albans is similar to the Queens-wide average defaulting or delinquent mortgages. Of the St. Albans has been a stable, predominately (42% of homeowners in St. Albans moved 345,435 notices servicers distributed across African American neighborhood since the in before 1990, versus 38% in Queens), the the state, 94,890 were concentrated in the middle of the 20th century. Today it remains extraordinarily high homeownership in St. New York City area. St. Albans’ proportional a solidly African-American suburb, with Albans means that there is a very high rate of share of 153 notices per 1,000 units was the 91 percent of the area’s 48,000 residents, long-term homeowners per capita. worst in the city. with 91% identifying as Black or African- American. GROUND ZERO FOR HOME Using data provided by the Furman Center, FORECLOSURES this report analyzed 268 St. Albans homes Overall, the socioeconomic demographics of St. Albans are similar to borough-wide Like in other neighborhoods in New York City, averages, but a few notable exceptions set property values in St. Albans fell as a result St. Albans apart. The area’s housing stock of the housing crisis. For a glimpse at this and suburban character are unique for New decline, this study recorded the home values (CONTINUED ON PAGE 19) 4 Ride out of Poverty transit accessibility is a universal right BY STACI HABER, MUP ‘14 journey since nearly every journey begins sidewalks for the greater good of society. and ends on foot. Unfortunately, footpaths in Access to public transportation should be Andhra Pradesh are rare. While legislation People with disabilities have the most to a universal right. Throughout the world, in India requires the implementation of lose when it comes to accessible transport people continue to face barriers accessing accessible footpaths, the few footpaths that options. When exclusion persists and employment opportunities, healthcare are built are almost always poorly maintained people with disabilities are denied essential services, and daily activities due to a lack of and riddles with obstructions. Widths are transport services, their costs significantly mobility options. This issue is exacerbated also reduced in order to compensate for increase and the challenges worsen. This for certain groups in developing countries, future roadway widening or informal parking vicious cycle intertwines disability with a ranging from the visually impaired and the spots. This reality presents footpaths as lack of opportunities, which leads to poverty. elderly, to an expecting mother and a veteran highly unreliable since there is no universal Transportation, however, can be a tool for confined to a wheelchair. Some cities are standard that is accessible for people with poverty alleviation if focused appropriately recognizing the importance of accessible disabilities and the elderly. on those who need it. People with disabilities transit, such as Medellin, Colombia and have the chance to rise out of poverty if Ahmedabad, India, while others are Community groups are striving to change given the opportunity to access activities and struggling to adapt. this scenario. In 2005, Kanthi Kannan services like employment and healthcare started the Right2Walk Foundation to independently and safely. By providing for I had the opportunity to live in one of those advocate, lobby, and promote awareness for the most vulnerable, policy makers and struggling cities – Hyderabad, India – for footpath infrastructure in Hyderabad. Kanthi planners can improve the livelihood of those five months. I spent my time working with a is a very passionate and concerned citizen – who need it most. transportation consulting firm on equitable one who always makes her presence known transportation options for vulnerable in community meetings – and realizes that It only takes one day in India to realize population groups. Hyderabad, like many “every day we lose a life” because footpaths that their transportation leaves a lot to be cities in Southeast Asia, has significant traffic are not of proper quality in the city. She desired. Yet, one can also see just how many challenges. believes walking allows the poorest of the hard-working, socially aware individuals poor to access the city as their given right. are working to change the archaic norms. A lack of education on the roadways and little This sentiment can be echoed by Enrique If anything, my experiences in India lifted enforcement perpetuates a perilous situation Penalosa, the former Mayor of Bogota, my spirits – if people in their situation can for any traveler on the roadways. Whether Columbia, who recently gave a lecture at be working so hard for a bright, sustainable it is a motorized or non-motorized transport NYU on the future of cities, stating, “quality future, then it must surely be within reach. mode in the city, anguish and despair are sidewalks are the most important part of a ever-present. Providing proper footpaths is democratic society.” And yet, cities continue an essential component of an accessible trip to fail at recognizing the necessity of (CONTINUED ON PAGE 19) As students and residents of New York City, look at the effects of the foreclosure crisis we each have become personally aware of on middle-income families in Queens, and the increasing vulnerability of urban regions sit down with Richard Florida to discuss the to natural disasters. In the wake of 2012’s potential of urban planning to build more Superstorm Sandy, the costs of an unpredictable resilient communities in an exclusive interview. climate and inadequate urban infrastructure are impossible for urban planners to ignore. New urban planners enter the field at a critical junction. This issue is a call to students and letter from the editors The Spring 2013 issue of the Wagner Planner, current practitioners to study the disasters ‘The New Normal’, is an exploration of where of the past in order to inform our response by alan lightfeldt, innovation has taken place and the places to those of tomorrow. As the world’s Vrunda Vaghela and Chris where it is needed the most: cities. The population continues its rapid and widespread Penalosa authors present a thoughtful retrospective on urbanization, the importance of safeguarding two of the most destructive disasters in recent our cities against disaster will only grow. n U.S. history, highlighting both the failures and the successes in cities’ preparation and response. We review original research by Wagner students on the vulnerability of New York City’s waterfront housing, take a careful the WAGNER PLANNER 5 Planning for the New Normal by rae zimmerman blackout An explosion at one of Manhattan’s central power sta- tions plunges parts of the city into an eerie darkness as Superstorm Sandy passes, underscoring human- ity’s tenuous dominance over the force of nature. disaster by the numbers Just how destructive were Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy? Our info-graphic spread, Disas- ter by the Number, compares the data behind two of the biggest disasters in recent U.S.