Erasing the Decision-Makers

Following up on Kate's terrific post from this morning, I'm reading this absolutely maddening article from The Times-Picayune about the impending mixed-income housing complexes that are replacing the projects, demolished last year.  Absent entirely from this article are the decision-makers behind the demolition and redevelopment of the projects, whose proposal will reduce the # of deeply subsidized units from ~5k to fewer than 1,600.  Check out the passive and/or anthropomorphic language journalist Katy Reckdahl uses:

New designs hope to avoid past problems in public housing complexes

Because we all know designs, when gathered around the board room table, are very focused on problem-solving.  More inanity after the jump!

building designs -- and the social conditions they are thought to foster

"...outdated buildings which basically warehoused poor people."

their passe design contributed to the complexes' struggles with crime and deferred maintenance.

How is design responsible for the housing authority/HUD's failure to maintain them?

...especially as public housing budgets declined.

I personally find it extremely frustrating when my household budget reduces itself and I discover I can no longer afford food.

Their requests jibed with the way public housing is being redesigned nationwide

Most have been flattened.

which was built in the mid-1960s and was imploded in 2004 after it became a dysfunctional mess of stalled elevators, broken windows and gun violence.

As a City Council demolition vote for the Big Four crept closer in December 2007

the conditions had created a "resounding disaster."

ARGH!!  Those "conditions" include the government slashing funds for capital and operating budgets of public housing, leading to deferred maintenance, demolition by neglect, and staff and social program reductions.  How can we manage the safety and security of residents when we decided to take away the funds for such efforts, just as we allowed crack cocaine to explode in our nation's cities?

I understand that a confluence of factors come together to exacerbate hardship in low-income families' lives: a lack of income and secure employment, bad neighborhood schools, environmental hazards, a lack of access to affordable & healthy foods, local governance by the cops, an unfair criminal justice system, too many guns, drugs, etc. - all this leads to increased stress and diminished opportunities and expectations.  But let's not pretend for a second that politicians, voters and taxpayers are not behind these outcomes.

Maybe Reckdahl and the rest of us ought to pay attention to the more honest portrayal in this article:

Though more than 4,000 Louisiana homeowners have received rebuilding money only in the last six months, or are struggling with inadequate grants or no money at all, FEMA is intent on taking away their trailers by the end of May.

My emphases, people.  As Change.org activists, we need to get out in front of and try and stop these decisions.  As one Katrina survivor emphasizes about all the contradictory decisions and actions by FEMA staff: "this kind of behavior: it’s crazy making"!

(Photo of the U.S. Housing & Urban Development agency (HUD) by teofilo)