ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996 TAG: 9609180059
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES D. WARING
YOUR SEPT. 4 news article (``Neighborhood face lift''), concerning the proposed changes and the possible expenditure of $20 million in public funds to completely revise the face of Lincoln Terrace to achieve a sense of harmony and community, left me astounded.
If the consultants or the steering committee really believe that simply changing the environment of those who live there will solve all the sociological problems that are identified in the article, they must be on some of the pot that seems to be so prevalent in the area.
I believe everyone should have a decent place to live, and there is a need for public housing. But the people who live in public housing are the ones who must generate the sense of community and make it a good place to live.
When I drive through the Lincoln Terrace area, I see few well-tended lawns or flowers, which requires only a bit of labor and no money There is no pride of ownership because there is no ownership. We must instill such pride.
All across the country, we have seen millions of dollars of public-housing high-rises blown to pieces because of what they became. But at the time they were built, they were going to solve the housing problems of low-income families.
It didn't work then, and I don't believe it will work now, unless we find some way for the tenants to have a vested interest in where they live, either through ownership or through the fear of being displaced.
The deficiencies cited by the consultants, such as too much open space (I remember the phrase ``crowded slums'') and isolation from the rest of the community, strike me as a pretty weak argument.
Councilman Jim Trout's statement that "We need to convert stereotypical `project units' into homes" is particularly perplexing since he's old enough to know that Roanoke City Council may be able to create a house but only the people who live in it can create a home.
As for the consultants, they tout the Diggstown Norfolk development that the company helped revamp four years ago. I understand they showed before and after pictures of some of the buildings in the development.
My question is: What data did they show that the renovations had any effect on the social problems they were trying to solve? After all, that's the bottom line, isn't it?
Charles D. Waring of Roanoke is a retired assistant director of sponsored programs at Virginia Tech.
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