"It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I think this problem is so big right now, it needs some very big solutions. And that is the real problem. I don't know if the good people of Minneapolis are ready for those really big solutions."
The "Boy Mayor" called a presser yesterday to address the growing tent city which is located close to the Little Earth community in South Minneapolis. Is that a problem? You betcha it is. This is the first real indication we are developing the same issues that Portland, Seattle and other western cities are getting. It is gentrification at its worse. While the well healed are moving into $3,000 month flats in the Warehouse district, the less fortunate, many who had some kind of pitfall, are relegated to living in a tent on the streets.
On a similar note, the Governor recently addressed the need for more affordable housing in the Twin Cities. We really suck at having an equal distribution of housing in the cities. Why? Developers love to put on the dog. Fancy joints with all the amenities. Building just ordinary housing? That is so yesterday! Where does that leave us with? According to the city planners, we need thousands of affordable units in the metro area. Let that sink in for a minute. Not dozens, not hundreds - but thousands.
Okay Twin Cities - brace yourself. To house the growing number of homeless, to ensure that people from all income stratas can have some kind of housing, this is going to take cash bucks - and lots of them. It is also going to take some vision which is currently lacking. Like what?
Like a moratorium on new housing in Minneapolis. Only allow new housing which is under a certain threshold. GASP! Do you know what that will do to our image? We are a "with it progressive city"! Do you know what this would do to our "growth"? The bottom line is this. The duel problems of inadequate affordable housing as well as the acute shortage of homeless shelters, is NOT going away by itself. As much as I hate the heavy hand of government, government might have to get involved here. We don't need a brand new 40 story high rise, loaded with high buck apartments and lofts, We do however, need a bunch of "Orin Thompson" type ramblers.
It is really up to the "Boy Mayor" and the City Council to determine what kind of Minneapolis they want going forward. Right now, Minneapolis is a mess. If you are "well to do" and living downtown, it is great, except for "those people" who are on the street corners. But "those people" also would like a bite from the apple. Like a place to live with a roof over their heads.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I think this problem is so big right now, it needs some very big solutions. And that is the real problem. I don't know if the good people of Minneapolis are ready for those really big solutions. But without those really big solutions, the big problems might just grow into insolvable ones.
Saint Paul has a shortage of "affordable" housing, with no rent control and rents going up steadily. Our new mayor has a number of ideas but they all take money not available.
ReplyDeleteI live 3 doors south of the Ford Plant property in Saint Paul. Ryan Companies has been chosen as the developer. This huge acreage will be converted into an entire village and their won't be one building with housing that would be dedicated to solve this problem. "Affordable" housing definition escapes me, but I'm sure it will be out of reach of our "full employment" fast food workers.
MN has always been fortunate that the extreme winter weather has not made us a mecca for the less fortunate, but now that we are creating our own it should be dealt with.
The Feds converted a bunch of housing on Fort Snelling for homeless veterans, the city could do the same with abandoned properties.
It does not help with the root cause of homelessness; low wages, mental illness, alcohol and drugs, but it would get them off the streets. They need more than a roof over there heads, they need help. Help that won't be forthcoming, as other issues loom and political will is lacking.
The No. 1 cause of financial stress in the country overall is everyday living costs. Nearly 30 percent chose debt, followed by 13 percent who chose housing, 9 percent who chose health care, 7 percent who chose education, 6 percent who chose family(?) and only 4 percent who chose taxes.
DeleteIf they think it's bad now, wait until our rising inflation and interest rates start striking them, which will be soon.
As the sea levels rise, the general amount of flooding damage from storm surge increases not only because of big and terrible storms but because the general erosion to coastlines increases extraordinarily. The costs to the real estate industry will be in the tens of billions of dollars. And so far, Texas has already sent almost $4 billion of that money to protect “specifically” oil refineries.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, within the last year, craven Republican Party officials have argued out of either sheer corruption or stupidity that the problems of rising sea levels have nothing to do with climate change, let alone manmade climate change.
Now, oil companies want Americans to foot the bill for their shortsighted and greedy business model.
One of the problems with building in Minnesota is excessive government regulation. We have a remodeling job underway and our builder tells us 30% of the cost is due to regulation. You can't make things affordable if you over-regulate.
ReplyDeleteThe GOP candidate Jeff Johnson would try to roll back those regulations, most of which are unnecessary, but a few protect the customer.
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