Kalistan

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Kalistani Housing Effort takes off
Neighborhoods in Sulari, Dana, Eshar have "doubled in density"
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
November 10, 5579


The new Elga Hill neighborhood in Sulari has revitalized the local economy with shops and stores

According to a new Government report released by Her Imperial Majesty's Interior Ministry this month, the housing initiatives which were designed to revitalize long struggling communities in Suldanor, Odufaray and Vrassa are yielding positive returns.  One such neighborhood, which is fairly typical of the results across Kalistani Proper, is the Elga Hill Neighborhood in Northern Sulari.  "We have seen lots of new families and young couples moving into this neighborhood," said Sulari Housing Authority planner Michelle Zephrim.  "Before this neighborhood, which is adjacent to Port Elga, had one out of every six homes abandoned or condemned.  We ended up buying most of those properties, demolishing them and replacing them with multi-family Walk-ups that are between three and four stories tall, with light commerce on the ground floor.  A single walk up can now house six families in the space that might have housed two, and people are much closer to services, commerce, and public infrastructure."

Zephrim said the key to development has been willingness of the Free City Council to experiment with zoning.  "Mixed commercial and residential neighborhoods were not typical before we began revitalization more than 10 years ago.  I mean, we had them, but the City Government often tended to err on the side of those who were talking about things like property value, and more importantly, protecting theirs.  So they would get the government to establish zones designed to not only keep businesses out of their neighborhoods, but also people they didn't feel like they should have to live next door to.  Revitalization allowed us to go in and address a lot of those old zoning laws, and begin focusing our building on the social needs of our community, rather than the individual profitability of home owners."

Zephrim said that Elga Hill is interesting because of the dramatic change in the character of the neighborhood following revitalization.  "Elga Hill was a very old neighborhood.  It was built when Port Elga was founded a loooong time ago.  And it really was extremely depressed.  Roads were falling apart here, there was crime in the neighborhood, and there were a lot of services that were extremely expensive to maintain, while the people's land was so depressed that it really wasn't even worth the cost necessary to tax it.  Elga Hill was a bit of blight.  When we got the go ahead to more or less start over here, we also had a pretty heavy buy in from the people who lived in Elga Hill, most of whom took cash and packed up to head out.  But they were tired of the crime, they were tired of the you know, the traffic, the air quality, many of them wanted better schools for their kids and all sorts of things.  Within 5 years, we had these multi-family residences built and occupied, and the end of zoning in this area meant that stores could open here.  And people started coming back, first a little trickle, but you can see here now, there are thousands who call this neighborhood home, and things have really gotten a lot better."

Zephrim said that Elga Hill is not the only place where revitalization is making a difference.  "More than 15% of Sulari has been essentially rebuilt...  and a lot of that is not only houses and businesses, but also infrastructure.  We had to tear out a spaghetti junction over in Oakwood heights which was a five way stop, if you can believe that.  But the signals only worked for three of the five ways:  that lead it to being the deadliest intersection in all of Suldanor.  We tore all that out and luckily, too, because underneath it, the sewer main was leaking and it looked like it had been leaking into the ground water supply for decades... who knows, but the road would have collapsed anyhow into a huge sink hole if we hadn't discovered the leak.  Now that's all repaired, and all those empty abandoned homes in the neighborhood have been replaced by multi family, high density homes, that people want to live in.  And that intersection now only is a four way intersection, and has not had a traffic fatality in two years."

Zephrim also said that revitalization is improving neighborhoods to the north in Dana and Eshar.  "We've even seen improvement in Port Swedes, which seems like a place that is terminally economically depressed.  If Swedeport can get their housing situation under control, that would really be something.  but yeah Port Swedes. Eshar and Gendaris, Dana, down to Lucid, over into Nevaras.  There's a lot of building going on as people are seeing the benefits of urban renewal, vertical planning, and mixed neighborhoods."  Zephrim even claimed that new urban planning has reduced average commute time in Sulari from 56 minutes to a mere 37 minutes.  "I'd like to see some work done on the arterial road system too, but that is kinda getting out ahead of myself... we need to tackle the housing situation first."

Zephrim's conclusions are endorsed by wide majorities in Sulari, Dana, and Eshar.  In a recent poll, more than 86% agreed that their neighborhoods are more vibrant now that a lot of resources have been put into renewal, and 20% of respondants said they actually have a new home now, which is far superior to their old house.  "We are also seeing population shifts as a result of renewal, as people pick up and finally have a reason to move to a new town, being no longer tethered to a house they can't sell in a place where they can't get loans.  This is an exciting time to be a Kalistani, and people are moving to places where there is more work, better work, and an easier life.  In short:  they are finally getting to live the sort of life they want, in a place they want."

Revitalization continues on the Mainland, and will continue for the foreseeable future.  When it is finally done, Kalistani neighborhoods will likely look very different than they do today, but they will certainly function better for millions and millions of Kalistanis, making it easier to shop, work, and access public services.