Corruption and abandonment: revitalizing an inner-city neighborhood
In this entry, you will be taking a look at one of Draperville's most pressing and hot button issues facing the City Council: South Draperville.
South Draperville
Since Draperville's founding, South Draperville has been a working class neighborhood -- it is the site on the primary freight rail station for the city, and was once the site of hundreds of tanneries (how it stunk!). It was also the city's foremost shopping district outside the downtown until the mid 1960s and was a vibrant city hotspot. Basically, if you wanted to go to a department store, get a cow turned into leather, or sleep with a hooker, this is where you went:
Nowadays, it's mostly abandoned or unproductive warehouses. All that remains from its heyday are the strip clubs, dive bars, and general grittiness...
And, of course, 30,000 long-time residents and neighbor who call it home. One of those residents is Mrs. Petrovsky, a widow in her eighties who has lived in South Draperville since she was born. Her late husband was a tannery worker until his retirement in the 90s, and she owns this small house on Viella Street in the neighborhood's core:
Mrs. Petrovsky can remember a time when South Drapersville had a real sense of community. She agrees it was always a little "seedy", but back in the day she liked the character.
Nowadays what we see is...
....blocks of warehouses that are empty and factories producing next to nothing...
....pawn brokers, nude bars, and night clubs...
...a freight rail station that is, nowadays, much too large for the actual volume of freight it handles....
....the South Draperville and Ling Ling passenger stations, which despite being "modernised" in 2001, are routinely congested and far too small for the amount of commuters...
And an underfunded high school in which the students perform on tests at rates lower than the rest of the state.
Mrs. Petrovsky is hopeful city Councillors can repair the neighborhood she once loved so much. She isn't sure exactly how...
Some other shots
Low income housing, like that pictured above, makes up to 90% of the housing stock in South Draperville.
A notable exception being these "luxury" condos built in 1977, in an attempt at gentrification of the riverside areas. Every second apartment in the buildings is currently abandoned. The buildings are unsafe to visit at night due to the lack of security provided.
This budget hotel/resort on Levar Road, pictured above at day and night, is mostly used as a meeting placed between sex workers and their clients. The pool has been closed sinced 1999.
A busy night as revelers drive to the bars and clubs.
YOUR OPTIONS FOR VOTING
So....how do we "fix" South Drapersville? Well, the four city Councillors are going to pitch their proposals to you below. Follow the link at the end of the update to vote on your favorite. The most popular option will be implemented in the next update.
OPTION A (COUNCILLOR LONERGAN)
"There needs to be a focus on building South Draperville as a location for white-collar work; financial services, accouting, and banking. I propose we bulldoze the majority of the underrused freight rail station and replace it with state of the art office parks. We will offer discounted rent to attract our preferred tenants."
OPTION B (COUNCILLOR FORSYTH)
"The notion that Southie even needs fixing is ridiculous! South Draperville has our most diverse population and is one of few neighborhoods with affordable family housing. At most I suggest we build MORE affordable housing on the undeveloped land on the riverside, after flood testing of course. Gentrification is EVIL and kills beautiful neighborhoods"
OPTION C (COUNCILLOR MCGARTH)
"South Draperville has a stunning growth in the local art culture. I suggest a proposal for a purpose-built modern art gallery to be constructed in disused factory and manufacturing zones. This will encourage younger and more "hip" people to relocate to the neighbourhood".
VOTE AT THE LINK BELOW:
https://www.strawpoll.me/19645254
PLEASE VOTE!!!!
NEXT UPDATE
In the next update, we will be enacting the successful proposal for South Draperville and you will get to see how your choice fits in with the city!
We'll also be looking at Draperville's (terrible) mass transit system.
As a teaser, here is the city's metro map.
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