socialmedian: A $1-billion bad idea for Jordan Downs

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Source: L.A. Times - Commentary

Nov 08, 2009

Summary

The L.A. Housing Authority proposal for a 2,100-unit project represents a stunning waste of money and opens the door wide to fraud. Focusing on the benefits of less crime could revitalize the area.

Bad ideas, if they were ever widely accepted, have a curious way of sticking around. That's because they give rise to institutions that have a momentum of their own. We've long known there are better ways to fix blighted neighborhoods than simply pressing "reset" -- that is, letting the government tear down old buildings and put up new ones. But we remain saddled with a system of public housing that keeps looking for ways of, well, pressing reset.