Complete Colorado columnist Pete Blake looks at the latest (and greenest) urban renewal effort to help Denvers poorest neighborhood: an eco-district. Apparently, instead of decent jobs and mobility, what they really need are walking paths and solar panels. Money quote: No, the money doesn’t go to the residents, although an air drop of a half-million in small bills might do them more good. The money goes to DHA planners, and they were given 16 months to develop a comprehensive strategy. It’s reminiscent of Tom Wolfe’s observation in “Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers,” an essay from the late 1960s when he observes, “Everybody but the most hopeless lames knew that the only job you wanted out of the poverty program was a job in the program itself. Get on the payroll, that was the idea. Never mind getting some job counseling. You be the counselor. You be the neighborhood organizer.” Read it all.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 23:36:33 +0000