The Newark revival

One of America's most notorious cities is on the way up again, according to the Washington Post:

...The city America loves to humiliate is on the cusp of a renaissance -- one that is taking a town that has been synonymous with crime, drugs and inner-city blight and transforming it into the nation's least likely symbol of urban renewal.

Forty years after the 1967 race riots marked the unofficial start of its steep decline, Newark is now the fastest-growing big city in the Northeast. After shedding more than 100,000 people in four decades, its population jumped nearly 3 percent, to 281,402, from 2000 to 2006, according to new U.S. Census data. That growth beat Boston, the District and New York while outpacing some cities out West such as San Diego and Long Beach.

Newark is reemerging at a time when its energetic new mayor, Cory Booker, 38, is winning some major battles in his war against entrenched corruption and crime. Part of a fresh generation of young, media-savvy black politicians, including the District's Adrian Fenty, Booker has come under heavy fire from the African American community for largely eschewing the black old guard in favor of young advisers of myriad races.

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Newark's potential as a less expensive alternative to nearby New York has assisted its budding revitalization in ways that other blighted cities such as Detroit could never hope to enjoy. City officials caution that it has a long way to go, but experts say there are lessons in urban renewal to be learned here, mostly from one of Newark's most recent victories -- reducing crime. Booker and his new police chief, former New York deputy police commissioner Garry F. McCarthy, have blitzed the streets with a "zero-tolerance" policy modeled on the one credited with cleaning up its far larger neighbor. Handing out infractions for minor offenses including loitering and public urination has helped find and track suspected gang members and drug dealers while getting more illegal guns off the street.

Damian P.

Posted by damian at December 31, 2007 07:26 AM