City Newspaper Archives - 12/2007
DEVELOPMENT: Lessons from the UR's housing
Published on Dec 18, 2007
He should not rush to speak for other University of Rochester students. Many students, faculty, and staff from his institution and other area colleges live in the southwest neighborhood and the 19th Ward. German admits that his letter was motivated by the "stigma that the area ‘over the footbridge' is considered unsafe." This perception is not supported by fact. The westside neighborhoods are not crime free, but neither is UR's River Campus. (Check out the annual reports on-line.) More importantly, fences do not necessarily make good neighbors, and contrary to popular belief, they do not serve as a fool-proof crime deterrent. A better safeguard can be found in a design that facilitates strong, neighborly relations and creates natural surveillance through pedestrian traffic, well-placed windows, and lighting.
As German points out, "some sort of infraction is bound to happen," but will the probability be reduced by fortressing? Rather than dismissing engaged citizens as "selfish," German should join the thousands of people from all walks of life west of the Genesee River who are also concerned about securing their lives, homes, and futures. By pushing to make the new housing development a part of the surrounding neighborhood rather than some colonial outpost of the campus, the Plymouth-Exchange neighborhood group has demonstrated that they have valuable lessons to teach about how we might build community - lessons that "good money" apparently can not buy.
CEDRIC JOHNSON, ROCHESTER
