‘Neighborhood residents cannot afford homeownership’: the limitations of community development on Latino enclaves

Abstract

The challenges of low-income neighborhoods and the different approaches to community economic development continue to dominate urban revitalization and poverty discussions. The ongoing, contested debate remains whether the nature of top-down business-oriented community economic development models serve the broader interests of the community residents or the narrow interests of its proponents and benefactors. This case study analyzes the impact of urban revitalization projects in Frog Hollow, an impoverished, but vibrant Latino enclave in Hartford, CT, and examines the limitations of top-down community economic revitalization and development strategies. The study also contributes to the community development literature by focusing on the Latino communities in the United States. This neighborhood underwent a highly publicized series of revitalization projects during the decade of the 2000s, which included business owners, community organizations, and local government in its development and implementation phases. This study focuses on three areas: identifying the history, goals, strategies, and tactics behind the community economic development model used in this urban revitalization project; examining the impact of the revitalization project on the socioeconomic conditions of the neighborhood and its residents; and determining how being an impoverished Puerto Rican/Latino enclave impacted the design, process, and implementation of the community development project.