Urban Renewal is a dynamic and often mis-understood process. There have been many poorly planned and executed Urban Renewal areas throughout the US in the past, but the current
paradigm of urban planning has tended to learn from these mistakes. Historically, Urban Renewal areas were
ghettos or
slums which were bulldozed to make room for towering multi-family complexes. Now, the focus is on
infill and
rehabilitation. The current method of creating
URAs has become an extended process of obtaining feedback from residents and business owners in the community to determine how they would like changes to be made to their neighborhood. Once an URA is approved by
city council a city agency will then create
Tax Increment Financing bonds to fund capital projects that will increase the value of the land and
improvements. This money goes to fund projects such as
infrastructure, new
affordable housing, parks and small business development among other things.
There is a danger of gentrification, but it is neither the goal nor the inevitable.