Community Redevelopment Agency

Community Redevelopment Agency
Name	Community Redevelopment Agency
Type	Public redevelopment agency
Formed	20th century
Jurisdiction	Municipal and regional
Headquarters	Varies by city
Chief1 name	Varies
Parent agency	Municipal authorities

Community Redevelopment Agency A Community Redevelopment Agency is a municipal entity established to address urban blight, revitalize neighborhoods, and catalyze economic development through planning, land use, and targeted investment. Agencies operate within statutory frameworks, partner with private developers, nonprofit organizations, and financial institutions, and implement programs ranging from affordable housing preservation to transit-oriented development and historic preservation. They interact with a wide array of institutions including municipal councils, state legislatures, federal agencies, philanthropic foundations, and civic groups.

History and legal framework

Originating in the early 20th century with precedents in Daniel Burnham-era planning and Robert Moses-era urban renewal, modern redevelopment agencies emerged from statutory innovations like the California Community Redevelopment Law and analogous state-level statutes. Influential events such as the Great Depression, New Deal programs administered by the Public Works Administration and Works Progress Administration shaped precedents for large-scale intervention. Landmark judicial and legislative moments including rulings by the United States Supreme Court and reforms in states such as California, Florida, Illinois, and New York (state) defined permissible tools like tax increment financing and eminent domain. Federal initiatives like the Housing Act of 1949 and Community Development Block Grant program administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development created funding streams and regulatory expectations. Legal controversies have invoked doctrines from cases such as Kelo v. City of New London and statutory constraints like state tax code provisions and municipal home-rule charters.

Organization and governance

Typical governance structures include boards appointed by mayors or city councils, oversight by auditors and inspectors general, and coordination with planning departments, housing authorities, and transportation agencies. Agencies often interact with institutions such as the National League of Cities, United States Conference of Mayors, International Economic Development Council, and regional planning bodies like Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) or Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Leadership roles have sometimes been filled by figures connected to mayors like Richard Riordan, Jerry Brown, Antonio Villaraigosa, Ed Koch, and Michael Bloomberg. Governance questions intersect with transparency advocates such as Common Cause, watchdogs like ProPublica, and investigative outlets including The New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

Functions and programs

Agencies execute land assembly, brownfield remediation, affordable housing development, historic preservation, small business assistance, and transportation-oriented development. Programs can involve partnerships with developers such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Gensler, Hines, and Related Companies, nonprofit partners like Habitat for Humanity and Enterprise Community Partners, and financial intermediaries including the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and Federal Home Loan Bank. Initiatives may align with federal programs like the New Markets Tax Credit and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and with regional infrastructure projects such as those overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and California High-Speed Rail Authority. Agencies coordinate with cultural institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and National Trust for Historic Preservation when addressing preservation and adaptive reuse.

Financing and incentives

Primary financing tools include tax increment financing (TIF), bond issuance, land value capture, public-private partnerships, and grants from entities like the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Kresge Foundation. They leverage federal resources from the Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Housing and Urban Development and state revolving funds administered by entities such as the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. Incentives often comprise tax abatements, fee waivers, expedited permitting with planning departments, and land disposition via redevelopment plans aligned with municipal comprehensive plans. Financial instruments and practices draw scrutiny under accounting standards set by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and legislative fiscal oversight committees in state legislatures.

Controversies and criticism

Critiques focus on displacement and gentrification in neighborhoods once served by agencies, invoking case law and advocacy from groups like ACLU, National Low Income Housing Coalition, and American Planning Association. High-profile controversies have involved eminent domain practices spotlighted by Kelo v. City of New London, fiscal mismanagement uncovered by state auditors and investigative journalists at outlets including The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, and debates about transparency raised by Sunshine laws and open meetings advocates. Critics point to inequities documented by scholars at institutions such as Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, and New York University, and by think tanks including the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute.

Notable examples and case studies

Prominent examples include redevelopment projects and agencies associated with cities and regions: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Detroit, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.. Case studies often examine initiatives such as the Downtown Los Angeles revitalization, South of Market, San Francisco, Chicago Loop, Hudson Yards, Boston Seaport District, Philadelphia Navy Yard, Wynwood, Miami, Detroit Downtown Partnership, Pioneer Square, Seattle, Pearl District, Portland, Oregon, Midtown Atlanta, The Gulch, Nashville, and Jacksonville Landing. Analyses reference redevelopment outcomes following disasters and events including Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 attacks, and Recession of 2008–2009, and link to policy responses shaped by reports from the Federal Reserve, Congressional Research Service, and Government Accountability Office.

Category:Urban planning Category:Public finance