background : : : context of abandoned houses : : : Models of Urban Change

American cities have long been subject to rapid growth and equally rapid decline. As cities became blighted and buildings were abandoned, the canon of urban theory grew and new models were proposed. Jane Jacobs, whose seminal work "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" gives a direct and thorough critique of urban planning in the 20th century. Her work, which has been an influential tool in the relatively new field of urban design and planning, sheds light upon many models of urban change, as well as some suggestions for optimizing space and resources in the city. Jacobs's work accompanies many newer urban theorists and practices, whose models have colored the modern American city:

City Beautiful: For as long as urban blight has been perceived as a problem, the beautification of cities has been a policy concern. The perception of the cities as "dirty," as well as the growing suburbanization of America aided by the vast highway system, took a valuable tax base out of urban centers. Left behind was a considerable amount of urban blight in the forms of abandoned houses, lots, and businesses. The historical City Beautiful movement was meant to ameliorate such problems; creating an aesthetically pleasing city would "inspire its inhabitants to moral and civic virtue."(5) In fact, the ideology of the project was rooted in the belief that beauty could shape human behavior. Residents might be inspired, by the urban reform, to become more involved in the community and act as part of the utopian ideal.(6) The principles of City Beautiful inspired the Beaux Arts movement, a series of architectural pursuits to beautify downtowns (for example, the St. Louis World's Fair, 1904). But while City Beautiful did begin a range of neoclassical architecture thought to inspire good civic values, it did little in terms of neighborhood planning and affordable housing. Then, as now, the homeless were regarded as blight, and aesthetics were held as the primary goal.

But can aesthetics really change human behavior? Some researchers suggest that visual statements, such as a newly renovated house, have little impact on the rest of the neighborhood. Jacobs, for example, argues that cities have no place being artistic. Though her work did not specifically address individual houses in an urban neighborhood, she was quick to criticize aesthetic movements such as the Garden City and City Beautiful as futile, at best.(7)

Urban Renewal: Another historic movement that did greater harm to urban centers than good was urban renewal. In 1949, urban planners regarded blight as a cancer to cities; using oncological terms, they described how blight would spread and infect other parts of the cities. Appropriately to this view, they called for a total removal of the blight, and the federal "Urban Renewal" program was formed. In the West End of Boston in particular, whole neighborhoods were razed as part of this "housing program." But although the purpose of Urban Renewal was to improve housing, there was no requirement to build affordable housing in place of the razed buildings. Thousands of people were displaced and the West End was never fully redeveloped, leaving a hole where once a mixed-use, diverse community had lived.

Restoring older, abandoned buildings: Jacobs is a proponent of this model; reusing old, well-distributed buildings as an essential part of urban revitalization. (8) She claims that razing older buildings and constructing new structures leads a city to homogeneity and stifles diversity. The cycle of destroying and rebuilding houses that will eventually be abandoned is counterproductive. Instead, Jacobs asserts the value of older buildings: "a good mingling of the old buildings must remain, and in remaining they will have become something more than mere decay from the past or evidence of previous failure. The economic value of old buildings is irreplaceable at will. It is created by time. This economic requisite for diversity is a requite that vital city neighborhoods can only inherit, and then sustain over the years."(9) This is the model that most applies to Providence and my study; the older, abandoned houses are being restored not only to promote diversity, but to maximize the historic and economic importance of the buildings.