British Broadcasting CorporationIt’s a regenerative idea that emerged in the United States half a century ago and has spread to other parts of the world.
But could selling vacant, abandoned properties for a nominal price help solve urban problems? Who are the winners and losers in these plans?
Judy Aleksalza’s house in Baltimore’s Pigtown area feels like a real-life version of the Tardis, the famous time-travel police station from “Doctor Who.” It looks bigger inside than outside.
It’s part of a row of well-preserved 19th-century townhouses – many have freshly watered flowerpots outside the front steps, no trash or graffiti.
Ms Aleksalza bought the then-derelict property in 1976 for the same price as her neighbor – $1 (75p).
Since then, she’s spent tens of thousands of dollars, and more blood, sweat, and tears transforming it. The inclement weather and the contractor’s failure to complete the work made it, in Judy’s words, “a horror story.”
“I almost declared personal bankruptcy,” she said. “It’s kind of like childbirth, you know. It’s so scary when it happens.
“But you know, when it was over, I said ‘This is mine, it’s all mine’. The stability that comes with owning your own home is everything.”
Baltimore, located 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Washington, D.C., was one of the first cities in the United States to experiment with “urban homesteading.” Empty properties are being sold for just a dollar, allowing people who might otherwise not be able to afford to get on the housing ladder.
The program was run by Jay Brodie, then a top official in the city’s housing department.
“We picked some random names and started meeting with them,” he recalls. “Once it was done and it was on the cover of American Express magazine… we said ‘we’ve got something here’.
“We’re talking about something you can see and touch. They’re a living example of what Baltimore rowhouses are like.”
The project was discontinued in 1988 after Mr. Brodie left the department in the early 1980s. But some ideas never completely die and instead spread their wings.
Fast forward to 2013 and three thousand miles away, another port city facing similar problems of urban decay decided to try something similar – Liverpool.
Tony Musdale, from Liverpool City Council’s housing department, has heard of the idea of selling derelict properties cheaply. He suggested Liverpool give it a try.
So they offered property in the Webster Triangle area of Wavertree Only £1.
“I think we just felt there was an interest in renovating abandoned houses, starting from scratch and putting their own stamp on it,” Mr Musdale said.
“We came up with the concept and got a very positive response. I think it really sparked people’s imagination.”
It may have piqued a lot of interest, but some of the 100-plus buyers were left devastated.
“There was a rat infestation and a tree grew out of my front bay window,” said Maxine Sharples, one of those involved in the scheme. “It’s hard, back-breaking work. It’s dirty.”
Despite all the heartache and hard work, Maxine Sharples said it was worth it. “It has completely changed my life. I don’t take for granted that I live in my dream home, which I renovated with just a pound.”
Other countries have launched similar schemes, including Italy, and Spain.
Maxine SharplesThings are back to square one in some ways. Earlier this year, Baltimore unveiled new plans to help revitalize its blighted neighborhoods.
Part of it? A person named Fixed pricing plan This will allow residents to purchase abandoned properties for just $1.
Any individual looking to purchase a home for $1 would need to prove they have $90,000 to spend on improvements. Additionally, they must already live in the city and commit to living in the renovated property for five years.
Interest in the project is said to be high. “I think it’s definitely going to get people more excited or interested than even we realized what was going to happen,” Baltimore Housing Commissioner Alice Kennedy told me.
So far, however, only a few have met the criteria and actually succeeded.
Meanwhile, nonprofit affordable housing providers known as Community Land Trusts can also buy buildings in Baltimore for $1, while large housing developers can apply to buy them for $3,000.
The $1 housing plans quickly made headlines, but critics questioned what they would achieve. One such skeptic is David Simon, the creator of “The Wire,” the hit TV series set in Baltimore.
The gritty show, which aired from 2002 to 2008, was inspired by Mr. Simon’s own experience as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun.
He said the original Baltimore plan did not benefit those who were economically marginalized because the properties were purchased by people with enough money to renovate them.
“I mean, it brings the tax base back to the city,” said Mr. Simon, who still lives and works in Baltimore. “But it’s not socialist in the sense that I don’t think it’s successful in terms of wealth distribution. But I don’t think any urban renewal or urban reclamation that I’m familiar with in this city has ever been egalitarian.”
In Liverpool, Tony Musdale admitted that while his scheme had helped improve the area, there were still problems with anti-social behavior and a decade later there were still boarded-up properties that had not yet been renovated.
“I would say anti-social incidents are not as frequent as they used to be,” he said. “Generally speaking, sterling scheme homes have been the driver of regeneration in the area. There’s still some way to go. I think in some ways regeneration is never over, isn’t it? There’s always more to do.”
Back in Baltimore, David Lidz runs the Waterbottle Cooperative, a grassroots organization that buys dilapidated Baltimore properties and renovates them to rent to low-income people.
He worries that individuals buying homes for $1 could lead to gentrification of areas, causing overall rent levels to be “raised” and low-income people to be “squeezed out.”
“So you ask yourself where did those people go? Well, they moved to the next rotten neighborhood. That’s not good.”
At the Baltimore Housing Commissioner’s Office, Alice Kennedy said she’s aware of the problems posed by previous renewal plans and is eager to learn from the past.
“The first priority for all of us working in the city is to redress the racist housing policies and socioeconomic segregation of the past,” she said.
“Success to me is really knowing that our communities will be whole again and that they will have the ability to thrive as human beings in the City of Baltimore from birth to death.”
