Communication is vital to redevelopment plan process

If there are ways to better our community, we want to hear about them. This was the impetus for Mayor Rediger inviting representatives of Purpose Built Communities, an Atlanta-based organization, to come to Cape Girardeau to discuss the success their city has experienced through their program, which has become a model for other cities in need of redevelopment. Community leaders, educators, pastors, residents and more were invited to attend the public meeting last Wednesday at the Shawnee Park Center.

If what has occurred in Atlanta is any indication, the model that Purpose Built Communities offers has great potential, and Mayor Harry Rediger is hopeful. "This has the potential to be one of the biggest initiatives ever undertaken in Cape Girardeau," he said.

It's all about revitalization. According to a pamphlet by the organization, "Purpose Built Communities helps local leaders transform struggling neighborhoods with a proven model to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty in urban America." To accomplish this, the group utilizes "community quarterbacks," and focuses on "mixed-income housing," "cradle-to-grave education," and "community wellness." The program also provides free consulting.

The original rollout of the program was in East Lake Meadows in Atlanta in 1995, and its success is notable. Take education, for example, something every parent is concerned about: Fifth-graders went from 5 percent meeting state math standards to 94 percent doing so -- and 99 percent meeting state reading and language arts standards. Students now match up with schools considered to be among the best. Employment went from 13 percent to 100 percent of adults either working, attending school or disabled, with a leap in household income. Crime, too, dropped dramatically.

Purpose Built Communities Vice President Kathleen Brownlee discussed how the program transformed areas that were overrun with crime and poverty: "It led to construction of mixed-income housing, opening of a charter school and construction of a YMCA," Southeast Missourian reporter Mark Bliss wrote.

Yes, with the area housing revamp, some East Lake residents had to relocate, but alternate, subsidized housing was found for them, and some returned when new housing was built.

Since 1995, other cities joined Atlanta: Birmingham, Charlotte, Columbus, Indianapolis, to name a few.

Will Cape Girardeau be added to that list? Is this program, born in an urban environment with massive public housing, a good fit? That remains to be seen. Of Wednesday's meeting, Rediger said, "This is an education meeting. This is not a decision meeting." And according to Bliss, "about 100 bankers, educators, pastors, real-estate agents, developers, representatives of social service agencies and charity groups, residents and city officials" came out to be educated about the program that would take many years to implement if given the green light.

Clearly, there is much to consider with a program such as this, so communication is ongoing and vital. Right now, it's time to study the models, hear from the community and weigh the benefits. "We don't have all the answers yet. We are on our first date, so we will see how it goes," Brownlee said.