It sure has been difficult to find positive news recently... But here's a great one!
According to treehugger.com construction has commenced on Savannah's first housing project, and why is that positive? Because it is sustainable and it's called Sustainable Fellwood.
The plans call for 220 home units, 40% public housing, 40% for low- to mid-income families and 20% at market rate. The community features an organic garden and large green common space.
Having grown up near Chicago, I have seen projects, their failure and their destruction. This provides an amazing alternative to the public and mixed income developments I've seen because it allows for a community to grow with a closeness to food, natural surroundings and decreased utility expenses. This provides amazing educational opportunities for children, and the chance for cross-cultural and cross-class encounters.
Taking a look at the Development Team of the housing project, one can see that this is different off the bat--the most important members of the team are local Savannah business and organizations. Over the years, in Chicago, both Cabrini Green and the Robert Taylor Homes were often administered by the Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) because the Chicago HUD board was so inept at their job, but this didn't bring good tidings to the now demolished housing projects in Chicago.
Chicago's story should be a lesson that when embarking a public housing projects, the tenants must be provided with adequate and efficient housing. Just as importantly, they should be provided with a means to establish and grow a healthy and safe community.
Hopefully Sustainable Fellwood can be a model of a new variety of housing project that will have a different story and experience than Chicago.
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