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Originally Posted by BrinChi
BOOM. Well said. And I love your personal mission. I also certainly hope that if TUP's assumption is true, where you don't live anywhere near the place you're investing in, that you reconsider the location of your own home very soon.
As a white guy who lived in Garfield Park for 9 years and now Bronzeville for the last 2.5 years, it's just laughable to me when I hear people justify not going to certain parts of the city (or paying twice as much for housing to live in certain neighborhoods) because of the crime stats. I'm privileged and unlikely to be involved in a random act of crime, but the biggest frustration of my neighborhood is when litter gets out of control -- seriously that is the worst part of living in the less affluent parts of the city imo. (Recognizing that even the wealthy parts of a dense city often get badly littered, but it's usually taken care of quicker.) That's been my focus of neighborhood initiatives because most places stop looking scary when the trash is cleaned up and the grass/foliage is trimmed... even if the area has some empty lots with old foundations and crumbling sidewalks. If the city wants the south and west sides to continue attracting investment and filling in, it's essential to keep them clean. It should be a low-cost, high-return investment. This *especially* includes the neighborhood parks.
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Quoted for absolute truth. Keeping an area, even a relatively run-down one, clean and somewhat tidy is absolutely essential in order to attract some economic investment to start a revitalization. It's already happening in Bronzeville and some other areas, but it needs to continue.
Aaron (Glowrock)