3 Community Investments That Can Make a Difference

Real estate is a world filled with magnates, moguls, and money, and while it might seem like a cutthroat world of old rich guys looking to make the most cash possible while sticking it to the little guy, there is so much more to the industry than financial gain and power.

If you look around, especially in cities, real estate potential is everywhere. From shiny office erections in the center to the nuclear family suburban dwellings and everything in between. All of it is real estate, and all of it can be purchased, renovated, or built on.

Anyone can get into the real estate industry and despite the bad stories of unscrupulous businessmen, there are real estate projects that aim to make a difference, such as:

• Urban Revitalization
• Low-Cost Housing
• Public Spaces

Years of neglect have had a dramatic effect on some urban and inner-city real estate but it can be transformed while housing has always been an issue for the poorest in society and public space renovations can bring communities together.

 

Urban Revitalization

Inner city and urban areas are prone to neglect and decay since they are almost always the worst-hit areas when cuts are made and economies shrink. Poor planning, poverty, and racial discrimination can have a dramatic effect, breeding crime, unrest, and lost opportunities that ultimately amplify any community issues.

But all is not lost. You might be one of the people out there like Paul Ognibene, who is able to look past the stereotypical face of an area down on its luck.

Ognibene’s Urban Spaces is transforming communities with residential and commercial projects in urban areas such as Cambridge, Massachusetts where they have recently developed retail and commerce.

 

Low-Cost Housing

Housing is perhaps one of the most controversial topics around at the moment, with affordability being a primary concern. When you think of low-cost housing, you might think of slums and racially divided areas that have been forgotten about for years., with some of the issues only being brought to mainstream media recently.

But housing issues plague all cities, all classes, and all races. Low-cost housing solutions are one of the noblest uses of real estate and there are even non-profit groups such as Phipps Housing (New York) making a real difference to the lives of thousands of people as one of the best low-cost housing developers in the state.

 

Public Spaces

The hub of many communities the world over, good public spaces brings together everyone by providing safe, fun, and sometimes educational areas that are open to all. Developing such things as parks, community centers, and public sporting facilities can reduce crime and provide an outlet for an area’s most deprived families.

Lost opportunities give way to poverty, which has been highlighted as the number one reason for someone engaging in criminal activity, next to drug addiction, which is another symptom of a failed community that public investment can help with.

Non-profit Community Development Corporations (CDCs) are working to create housing, jobs, and commerce.