Let a hundred cities bloom: what killed the American city; herewith, a diagnosis, and a solution too sensible to be adopted

National Review, July 11, 1994 by Peter Shaw

Instead of this unthinkable approach, the Times Square renewal committee, armed with expensive studies and subsidies, began its alternative. Viable office buildings were emptied; a few cold fortresses were erected to stand empty until at least the second millennium of the birth of Christ. The plan remained on the books, but with the recession it died a natural death, bequeathing to the city not only empty new buildings but also emptied old ones and an accelerated decline of both Times Square and the American theater.

Smaller American cities have gone the same route. But what if they were to address public safety directly? How much policing would they need? At what cost? Let us just say that they would require enough policing to restore safety, and at a cost undoubtedly less than the sum of costs from crime, property destruction, and irrelevant social services. There was a time when one foot patrolman every ten blocks or so could keep public order. In the suburbs, where those who used to be looked after by that patrolman have fled, several miles are adequately patroled by a single radio car. At first, though, there might have to be a patrolman on every block and numerous radio cars cruising the downtown.

To the tortured question, "How can we send police into minority neighborhoods without appearing racist?" the answer is simple. Send the police where there is crime and danger, and give them but one directive: "Enforce the law." Residents will be delighted: surveys show that blacks and other minorities enthusiastically support heavy pohce presence and strict enforcement of the law. Only advanced thinkers will react negatively.

Though 'twill not be done, the mind can contemplate what would ensue if twere done. Devalued real estate would become a magnet for entrepreneurs and people in search of housing bargains. The trapped hotel guests, anxious for diversion, could walk-and spend money - outside their fortresses. The black districts could attract paying visitors to ethnic stores, restaurants, and nightclubs. As the streets began to be peopled again, fewer policemen would be needed.

Next Step

Making the city safe would not be enough. To make the safe city attractive, something else would have to be done.

First, kill all the city planners. That is, to make the safe city an attractive investment, shopping, and recreation center, halt all city planning and remove building and zoning restrictions. Much would ensue. The first changes might well involve building over the city planners' beloved plazas. These cold regions amount to unused wastelands offering little reward for the long, dreary walk required to cross them. The same distance, when dense with buildings, is easily, comfortably covered on foot as one goes from store window to store window, pausing occasionally, crossing streets, and being entertained by the rest of humanity.

Thrown open to development, the plazas - those desert places of the planners - would likely be filled with stores, and with apartments above them. The lonely white-elephant buildings at the center of the present plazas would be given a lifeline to the world, a chance to prosper as the city moves back toward its natural look of filled street spaces.