Retooling Affordable Housing Strategies Part 12 of 19
According to PolicyLink, a national nonprofit research organization, local governments offer infill incentives for a number of reasons:
Reusing vacant or blighted properties, Fellow Traders hich can revitalize underperforming neighborhoods;
Increasing jobs, spurring commerce and creating safer neighborhoods, which can generate a tax base, particularly for school districts;
Taking advantage of economies of scale by building denser developments;
Reducing auto congestion and pollution when infill is close to transit routes or is in walking distance of services and entertainment. Many cities and older communities in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District have seen core neighborhoods improve under this type of incentive.
Cities such as Fort Worth and Richardson have developed strategies to sustain infill growth and investment.
Neighborhood Empowerment Zone in Fort Worth
In the late 1990s, Fort Worths inner city was in danger of decaying while new development encircled it like a lasso, city officials recall. In response, the City Council designated specific districts as priorities for spurring commercial and residential development. In 1999, the Texas Legislature authorized municipalities to establish zones to revitalize Forex Trading Machine distressed neighborhoods through waived fees and municipal tax abatements.
The Fort Worth City Council was the first to take advantage of this legislative tool by establishing a neighborhood empowerment zone program in 2001 to promote private investment in housing and businesses. To be designated such a zone, the area must have a plan to promote the creation or rehabilitation of affordable housing and increase economic development activity.
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