Book

Blighted : a story of people, politics, and an American housing miracle

Call Number

  • 363.5 S7799 (CEN)

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Publication Information

Athens, Georgia : NewSouth Books, an imprint of the University of Georgia Press, [2022]

Physical Description

xviii, 372 pages, 8 pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Summary

"Blighted offers a unique insider perspective of the political, human, and economic challenges of delivering equitable housing in a market fueled by inflationary prices, insatiable demand, and competing and often dubious agendas. [Stagmeier's success with Summerdale apartments] is a bright model of how affordable housing, education, healthcare, and social capital can interconnect to build a vibrant, sustainable equitable housing communities, nearby schools, and the community at large"--Dust jacket flap.

Contents

  • I--Investing in blight to remove it. The bombed-out Cleveland Avenue neighborhood
  • The science of blight
  • Blighted communities and the value of political will
  • A walking tour of the community chaos
  • Capital stack gymnastics--how we raised $9.6 million to purchase Summerdale
  • II--Effects of blight on those who live and work in it. Virginia Humphries--the longest surviving tenant
  • Sharon Allen--the phantom tenant in Apartment D-12
  • Melinda Wyatt--the blighted tenant
  • The Atlanta police lieutenant and the drug kingpin
  • Dr. Payne--Cleveland Avenue Elementary School
  • Kingston Humphries--the traumatized tenant
  • III--Re-sifting the community social capital. The physical inspection
  • Purchase and management takeover
  • Lucy Hamby and the wild west--the first 30 days
  • Taming the drug kingpin in Unit D-12
  • The federal compliance burden on equitable housing
  • The management office
  • The toxic community culture
  • Kristin Hemmingway--the children and Star-C after-school program
  • 'I have lived here for 22 years'
  • Pest infestations management
  • Crime and security
  • Melinda Wyatt and the blighted mentality
  • Jeff Miller and the tedious permitting process
  • Education and the Star-C after-school program
  • The eviction of Melinda Wyatt
  • The replacement criminals--crime and security
  • Rebuilding social capital
  • IV--Epilogue. Change gonna come
  • Summerdale survives the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Solutions.

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