The Fiscal Cliff

Many American cities are under fiscal assault. Rising pension costs, diminishing tax bases, and middle class flight have created a fiscal cliff for many American cities. Many cities have already become dysfunctional and unable to meet their basic responsibilities of providing adequate public safety, housing, education opportunities, and health care to its citizenry. Worst yet, due to middle class flight and the corresponding flight of jobs, the citizenry in these cities have a greater and greater concentration of poverty. These "declining" cities are less able to provide basic services to a citizenry which is in greater need of those services. The bankruptcy filing of Detroit is only the tip of the iceberg. Unless solutions are identified and enacted quickly, many more American cities will face Detroit's fate. The Fiscal Cliff describes the intricacies of the fiscal problems encountered by many American cities and identifies solutions which address these issues. Mayors of these declining cities continue to grope for idyllic and quick fix solutions to their declining tax base such as casinos or convention centers. However, the solutions to these vexing problems must be predicated on a correct understanding of the problem. Declining cities have undergone decades of structural change to its population and economic base. The Fiscal Cliff proposes real solutions which acknowledge these structural changes. The Fiscal Cliff is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in social inequality, urban planning, or urban politics..The writing style is not academic but one which many readers can easily relate to (i.e Jane Jacobs meets Malcolm Gladwell). Over 13,000,000 people live in declining American cities. If the municipalities these people live in cannot provide them with basic public services such as heath care, education, public safety or decent housing, it should be a concern for every American.
About the Author: Edward Poteat is a leading developer of affordable housing in the New York City metropolitan area. Currently, Mr. Poteat is the Founder and President of Carthage Advisors, an affordable housing real estate firm that specializes in the redevelopment of older government subsidized properties. Carthage has more than 700 units in various stages of development and is actively pursuing other projects. The firm has exceptional expertise with devising sophisticated financial structures to rehabilitate existing affordable housing structures. Mr. Poteat began his career as an Urban Fellow with New York State Empire State Development Corporation. He also spent three years as a loan officer in the Chase Community Development Corporation. In the late 90's, Mr. Poteat co-founded Horsford and Poteat Realty. By 2010, the firm developed 1,000 units of affordable housing in New York City. The firm developed a variety of projects including: 1.The renovation of 225 Units in Central Harlem 2.50 for sale homes in Brooklyn 3.The cooperative conversion of a failed 160 unit Mitchell-Lama in Harlem 4.74 unit luxury condo-op development on a formerly church owned site Mr. Poteat is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and author of several essay and books, including the Fiscal Cliff. Aside from development, Mr. Poteat holds or has held board membership or advisory board membership with the Citizen Housing Planning Council, the New York City Housing Partnership, African American Real Estate Professional of New York, Manhattan Community Board #10, and One Hundred Black Men. He has lectured about affordable housing on numerous industry panels and at several universities.