Code Enforcement in Urban Renewal

Abstract

The city of Los Angeles has used code enforcement since 1951 to rehabilitate decayed properties and to conserve older neighbourhoods. Analysis of the records from this programme provides an opportunity to examine the costs and the accomplishments of urban renewal based on building code enforcement. Quantification of the costs and benefits of the code enforcement programme indicate that measurable costs do outweigh measurable benefits but no satisfactory methods have yet been developed for measuring many kinds of important but unmeasurable costs and benefits.

Code enforcements emerges as a useful supplement to large scale land clearance and as a possible substitute under some conditions. Enforcement is most effective in areas where properties have not been neglected for too long a period of time. In older neighbourhoods of neglected properties code enforcement usually results in a high rate of property demolition. Code enforcements do offer great promise of providing a less costly and somewhat more effective means than 'bulldozer' renewal for halting and curing extensive urban blight.