MW: Bernanke backs holistic approach to redevelopment
By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Successful government and private strategies to rebuild poor neighborhoods cannot focus narrowly on a single problem, but must address several factors in a coherent way, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday. In a speech at a Fed conference on community redevelopment, Bernanke said this holistic approach "is easier said than done." Bernanke held up the work of Purpose Built Communities, a non-profit started by local developer Tom Cousins in the East Lake neighborhood in Atlanta, as a model for future work. "Community development is a complicated enterprise," Bernanke said. "But substantial coordination and dedication are needed to break through silos to simultaneously improve housing, connect residents to jobs, and help ensure access to adequate nutrition, health care, education, and day care," Bernanke said.
