Students' autumn efforts towards the attempted defeat of George Bush were laudable: the semesters in Wisconsin and Ohio, the weekend trips to New Hampshire, the donations and the phone banking - all were valiant. But as we are all too aware, they failed. In light of this, it is in some sense heartening that there is much work to be done locally. For were those very students who worked so hard for John Kerry to apply their passion to Providence politics, they could achieve real change.
Despite its renaissance of sorts, Providence remains one of the poorest big cities in the country. Throughout the '90s, White-Hispanic segregation increased more here than anywhere in the nation. Housing is unaffordable for 45 percent of the population. A quarter of families and more than 40 percent of children live in poverty.
But there are initiatives before the City Council that would address all of these problems, and students who supported Democrats this fall because of their party's (good, but mostly far too timid) stands on socioeconomic issues could help us do great work here.
During the 90s, in line with trends across the country, Providence's government adopted policies that aimed to decrease poverty, reduce crime, and raise test scores through the gentrification of city neighborhoods. The story is a familiar one: new businesses are attracted through infrastructure improvements and tax breaks, upwardly mobile residents come to town, seeking jobs at those businesses; empty nesters that fled to the suburbs decades ago return for their retirements and property values go up.
In many ways, these are all good things, but for a lot of people they mean higher rents and taxes.
And, if a city is not focused on improving job opportunities for its current residents, such residents face an increased cost-of-living without jobs that pay enough to meet it.
The result is that the neediest are effectively forced to leave town, because they can't afford to stay. And those who do stay face an even steeper struggle to make ends meet.
As the poor leave, poverty rates go down, crime declines, and test scores rise. The city - or parts of it, at least - is left artificially "improved."
All without our having taken on the hard work of helping the poor grow out of poverty and educating children from disadvantaged homes.
Meanwhile, those who suffer most from gentrification are conveniently no longer around to speak out against it - and therefore cannot use their votes against the politicians whose policies led them to suffer.
The city should reject this cycle, and promote development that strengthens its neighborhoods by improving the lives of those who live in them.
There are several policies up for consideration before the city that would do just that. The city should:
1) Implement the First Source Hiring Ordinance, which was passed in 1985 but has never been enforced. It would require that projects financed by the City, or receiving tax breaks, hire Providence residents. Residents would gain access to thousands of jobs and millions of dollars.
2) Address our affordable housing crisis by amending the zoning ordinance. An "inclusionary zoning" ordinance would require all new large developments to include affordable housing. In return, the city would allow slightly higher or denser development to offset costs to developers.
3) Institute a "responsible contracting" ordinance, requiring that big projects that get tax breaks use contractors that pay fair wages, provide health insurance and have apprenticeship programs. This would ensure that developments in Providence produce good jobs - good local jobs, if we abide by the First Source Ordinance.
Boston and other big cities with hot development markets have put these laws in place. If we do too, new projects would still mean higher property values and increased local tax revenues, but they would also yield good jobs and affordable housing, improving the lives of all of Providence's residents and making it easier for them to afford to live in the city they call home.
In conjunction with the Providence WORKS! campaign, and community organizations like DARE, Jobs With Justice, ACORN, and the Rhode Island Housing Network, I'll be working towards the passage of these initiatives through the spring and summer. If you can help - even just as an extra body at a rally or two - please send an email to dare@daretowin.org, with Providence WORKS! as the subject.
David Segal is Providence's Ward 1 City Councilman.
