Hope VI- Revitalizing Memphis One Community at a Time

HOPE VI, also known as the Urban Revitalization Demonstration, is designed to revitalize the Nation's most severely distressed public housing. Congress and HUD created the HOPE VI grant program in 1992 to provide a flexible source of support for investments in public housing developments and for their residents. In the city of Memphis, since 1995, a determined effort t has been put forth to rid the city of Public housing projects through the usage of Hope VI grants.

Has the program been success in Memphis? And to what degree is success measured? I believe this is a question that doesn't have one correct answer. Supporters of Hope VI would say that the program has created new opportunities for low income residents, while critics would probably say that the program has failed due to its disbursement of poor people into other communities as well as its inability to avoid gentrification.

If we look at the examples of Hope VI that has been implemented in Memphis since 1995, we will see that it has definitely had an impact on public housing in the city.

Public housing in Memphis has been plagued with gang violence, crime, a lack of cleanliness, and other negative factors that have made them undesirable places to live. A lack of maintenance of these housing projects and disinvestment has led to dilapidated communities that aren’t livable. Hope VI has tried to replace these communities with better quality homes that create safer, more livable communities.

Hope VI communities are based on the New Urbanism model which focuses on pedestrian access, walkable neighborhoods, public transit, and green sustainable homes. In Memphis, since 1995 four public housing projects in disrepair have been converted to beautiful communities that have given Memphis new life.

In 1995 Memphis Housing Authority received a $47.2 million HOPE VI implementation grant for the Lemoyne Gardens housing units. This was the first implementation of Hope VI to the city. Lemoyne Gardens was changed to College Park. It has 411 apartments and homes available. These homes were a far cry from the massive deteriorated units that were once in its place. Residents had a stronger sense of community and felt safer walking down their streets. This community is currently a thriving community with a mix of young professionals, college students, and seniors.

Hurt Village, located just north of Downtown Memphis is one of Memphis's better known Hope VI grants. Established in the 1960's as an all white neighborhood, this neighborhood became a predominant African American community after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Racial tensions caused most white residents to leave the area along with businesses. In the late 1980's, this area quickly fell into disrepair due to disinvestment and neglect. In 2000 MHA developed a comprehensive plan for the Hurt Village and also applied for another Hope VI grant. MHA was awarded 35 million dollars towards the 150 million redevelopment effort.

Hurt Village, now known as Uptown is becoming one of Memphis’s most desirable communities due to the work and effort that has been put forth by the MHA and Hope VI. It features new urbanism style housing and gives the impression of community that Hurt Village never could achieve.

Other Hope VI projects such as the conversion of Lamar Terrace to University Place and Dixie homes into Legend Park have created similar opportunities for low income residents. They are given the opportunity to become self sufficient individuals who can have pride in their neighborhoods.

So is this a successful achievement of Hope VI? If success is measured by the amount of initial residents that return to the new neighborhoods, one would say that it’s not successful since less than 30% of original residents have returned. But a large percentage of these residents go on to live productive lives in other areas due to the social programs that are readily available to them. Critics also say that the Hope VI grant doesn’t have a one for one unit replacement for housing. But what critics must realize is that the over dense population of these blight areas assisted in the deterioration of them and a less dense community is not always a negative.

The program’s success can’t solely be based on residents, but rather the overall condition of the neighborhood. If these neighborhoods are dilapidated and blight, immediate action must be taken to revive these communities.

They are successful because they improve the overall perception and quality of Memphis, which in turn brings new opportunities to our city. Hope VI has definitely changed the landscape of Memphis and hopefully will continue to improve the conditions of our neighborhoods.