Donovan D. Rypkema

Author of The Economic Power of Preservation

Published by the National Trust

"Stable residential neighborhoods may not seem to be central to economic development, but in fact they are critical. Declining neighborhoods means loss of tax revenues for local government. Declining neighborhoods mean the departure of the skilled, the educated, the employed and the middle class. Declining neighborhoods see increased crime, declining property values, underutilized public infrastructure, deficient schools. Both the public and private sectors suffer economically when residential neighborhoods decline."