Urban Homesteading

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Of course, some demands are placed on citysteaders, as well. They have to be willing to make their homes among the noise, dust, and confusion of renovation ... live in a "blighted" neighborhood while it's being turned around . . . and commit themselves to a period of several years, knowing that—if they have to leave for some reason—all their effort and money will be lost. On balance, though, the urban homesteader appears to have a financial edge on the purchaser of a new home ... and there are usually additional savings—for inner city residents, who are often able to live close to their work—in lowered transportation costs.

Certainly society benefits from such programs, too. The neighborhood gains as urban decay is stopped, then reversed . . . disintegrating rental properties with absentee landlords are replaced by proudly spruced-up, owner-occupied homes . . . houses that were off the tax rolls again contribute their fair share ... and that indefinable, but indispensable, sense of community (in both its physical and spiritual aspects) returns to transform life in the city!

EDITOR'S NOTE: We've used the Baltimore urban homesteading program as an example, but similar activities are underway in almost 90 cities around the country . . . from New York (with a population of close to 8,000,000) to Benton Harbor, Michigan (population approximately 20,000). For information about citysteading, you can write to the Office of Community Planning and Development, Urban Homesteading Division, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C. 20410. Ask for the "Urban Homesteading Fact Sheet", HUD-523-15-PA(3) ... and the "Directory of Urban Homesteading Sites". Information about programs in your locality is best obtained from your area office of HUD (look for the address in the Fact Sheet).

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