Too often, after years of neglect, depopulation, crime, and disinvestment, cities have viewed recruiting richer residents as the essence of successful renewal.
There were several areas that became plagued by numerous social problems: high crime rates, drugs, property-standard violations, absentee landlords, and ultimately disinvestment in the community.
Neighborhood leaders began to learn that these issues and conditions were symptoms of a disinvestment that was the true, though hidden underlying cause of these problems.
