Lincoln Journal Star: "Neighborhoods with few home owners can reach 'tipping point'"

From today's National Paper of Record, here is an article about home ownership and social welfare. Here are some excerpts:


"One of the first things Michael Snodgrass’ teenage son noticed after moving to Lincoln this summer was how quiet it was at night. No gunshots.

Snodgrass had lived and worked for 15 years in one of the roughest parts of Kansas City. At his job, where he worked to improve the inner-city, most people called him White Guy.

He’d hear gunfire while walking from his car to his house.

He once came across the body of a man shot to death in an intersection.

As he was contemplating whether to return to Nebraska to lead NeighborWorks Lincoln, a 2-year-old in his neighborhood was accidentally killed in a drive-by shooting.

And while Lincoln’s inner city is nothing compared to Kansas City’s, Snodgrass immediately saw some big red flags after he arrived here. He’s surprised that so few Lincoln residents own their homes, particularly in older neighborhoods.

The average state and national homeownership rate is about 68 percent. Lincoln’s is 60 percent.

Experts say any neighborhood with less than 55 percent homeownership has reached a “tipping point,” meaning things could tip one way or another, for better or worse.

None of Lincoln’s core, older neighborhood rates are above 50 percent. And in one area south of the Capitol, only 6 percent of people own their homes.

Even given the impact of Lincoln’s college population, those are low numbers.

Renters aren’t bad people, but home ownership stabilizes neighborhoods. People who own their homes often take better care of the property and are concerned about property values.

Snodgrass says Lincoln is experiencing the doughnut effect — a hollowing out of the city core as people move to newer homes and apartments on the edge of the city. The rental-heavy city core is being pounded by vacancy rates in the double digits.

The effect is evident in the abundance of “for rent” signs. Apartment buildings that are half empty. Overgrown yards, broken windows, discarded furniture.

Some landlords are so desperate they’ll rent to almost anyone, says Lynn Fisher, who owns about 200 rental units and is head of the Real Estate Owners and Managers Association.

Criminal background checks fall by the wayside. Credit problems are overlooked. Sketchy renters move in, and scare away the good renters.

Landlords who can’t rent their apartments are less likely to be able to fix a leaky roof or moldy bathroom. Snodgrass says this “perfect storm” takes a toll on the heart of the city, where once-grand historic homes get neglected. Where the broken-window theory — that blighted property attracts crime —plays out.

The result of prolonged disinvestment and low homeownership rates can be seen in north Omaha and the core of Kansas City, Snodgrass says."

Read the whole thing if you are interested in urban housing, economic development, and social welfare.

By the way, although I find the court's opinion in Euclid troubling, perhaps the court understood that home ownership (as opposed to renting) is a legitimate concern for public policymakers.

Euclid and Nectow: Why Did they Come Our Differently?

The issue was the same in both cases--does the law being challenged bear a substantial relationship to a legitimate police power interest. Why did the cases come out differently?

Facial vs. as applied application.

Gotham Times on Free Trade and Importing Jobs

Interesting article in today's edition.

Nevada Supreme Court Determines Equitable Considerations Justify Claim for Per Se Taking of Airspace

Here