What? Let me explain. Ok, so the title leaves you wondering about the subject of this article. Devitalizing what kind of revitalization? My neighborhood, maybe your neighborhood, the neighborhoods of most, but not all inner cities. In order to revitalize something, it first has to be devitalized. How do we do this to some of our finest cities? Scenario #1- Imagine a great inner city neighborhood, where crime is not permitted to flourish, the local school system is fantastic and the city is well maintained and roadways are well paved. Sounds like suburbia right? Well, who would want to sell a beautiful, well built home with a paid off mortgage and move out to the newly constructed, very expensive, up to your neck mortgage payment, in a newly developed neighborhood in suburbia, if they were living in utopia? I know I wouldn't.
Scenario #2- Your city used to be the city in scenario #1. Now, it has become a city of crime, a city with the worst school system in the county, litter is a problem and the roadways are deplorable. Time to get out. Problem is, your lovely well kept and paid off home isn't worth what it used to be. Deflation due to devitalization has struck.
Scenario #3- Lending institutions (aka, big banks and insurance companies), construction companies, realtors, investors and so forth could and would not lend, build, sell, invest, or insure these newly constructed homes, if there were no buyers. That is where devitalization comes in. They have to have customers. Not everyone can afford these new homes in suburbia. But, if you have say a $70,000 paid off home as a down payment, you could afford one if you sell to someone who could afford yours. So, first we devitalize and give people a reason to move(and buy), making a lot of money on devitalization, then we make more money on revitalization. Tearing down old neighborhoods and revitalizing them. Buy up property for pennies on the dollar, attracting businesses with cheap land(which was worth something at one time), that investors that have no ties to the city bought at an inflated price, but now may be worth more due to revitalization and presto, you have devitalization of revitalization. Cause and effect, yin and yang. What went up, must come down. History repeats itself and money makes the world go round. If you find any truth to this article, leave a comment.
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