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Why Is Memphis the New South Bronx?

Demolition of low-income housing has only redistributed the problem

By Paul Stinson,  Newser User

Posted Jun 29, 2008 4:00 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Despite a flattened national crime rate in large cities, Memphis was recently dubbed the nation's leader in violent crime, prompting Atlantic Monthly to ask: “Why has Elvis’s hometown turned into America’s new South Bronx?" Local experts offer an unsettling answer: demolition of low-income housing projects isn’t eradicating crime and poverty by giving residents a fresh start—it’s just decentralizing and relocating the problem.  

High-tech policing initiatives such as ‘cops on the dots’ are helping dent crime figures by plotting, tracking, and responding to erupting urban problems on real-time residential maps. But one Memphis academic says that any solution must also include antipoverty measures such as providing health clinics, child care, and job training that crumbled alongside the neighborhoods receiving the wrecking-ball.  

MEMPHIS, TN: A couple hold hands on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Beale St. is the entertainment hub of Memphis.
MEMPHIS, TN: A couple hold hands on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Beale St. is the entertainment hub of Memphis.   (Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN -: An Elvis fan visiting a statue of Legendary Rock and Roll Elvis Presley in downtown Memphis.
MEMPHIS, TN -: An Elvis fan visiting a statue of Legendary Rock and Roll Elvis Presley in downtown Memphis.   (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)
An image of North Memphis is shown here. An area once described by a local police officer as quiet as all get-out is now referred to as a damn war zone.
An image of North Memphis is shown here. An area once described by a local police officer as "quiet as all get-out" is now referred to as a "damn war zone".   (Flickr © fearlessvk)
As part of urban renewal, developers built a new eight-block mall and downtown stadium for the Memphis Grizzlies. The city is applying for federal funds to knock down the last two housing projects.
As part of urban renewal, developers built a new eight-block mall and downtown stadium for the Memphis Grizzlies. The city is applying for federal funds to knock down the last two housing projects.   (www.pyramidarena.com)
A pair of police cars are shown on patrol in downtown Memphis. Last year, the city's biggest newspaper, proclaimed an unwanted honor: Memphis Leads US in Violent Crime.
A pair of police cars are shown on patrol in downtown Memphis. Last year, the city's biggest newspaper, proclaimed an unwanted honor: "Memphis Leads US in Violent Crime."   (Flickr © So Cal Metro)
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poverty • gang violence • urban poverty • Memphis • public housing

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