Português
Blight intervention typically follows three stages: (1) identifying blighted properties; (2) characterizing their effects on local neighborhoods; and (3) assessing the costs and benefits of remediation strategies to strengthen sustainability in urban areas. Because team members have worked together previously on the first stage (see Ferreira et al. (2018)), the current study will focus on the last two stages, by proposing decision-making processes and proactive measures that allow the causes and consequences of urban blight to be identified and analyzed. We believe that this project will offer useful insights both on the blight issue and urban sustainability in the Portuguese territory that may assist involved stakeholders in forming strategies for addressing urban blight.
“Urban blight” can be identified as abandoned or poorly maintained real estate properties, often accompanied by overgrowth, litter, abandoned junk or dumping, abandoned real properties, trash-filled alleys, graffiti and broken windows. Occurrences of blight, when significant, are generally associated with other negative characteristics, including lack of safety, poor reputation and depressed housing values, among others, all of which have significant social, economic and environmental repercussions on urban sustainability. The consequences of the blight issue are complex and wide-reaching, and must be addressed by applying a comprehensive and inclusive approach. Involved stakeholders include: neighborhood residents, contractors, urban planners, politicians, financial institutions, investors and the community at large. Blight reduces the quality of life of those living within blighted properties, children in particular. Blight may impact entire neighborhoods, as blight often leads to more blight and frequently is associated with drug trafficking and prostitution, which may severely impact perceived and actual safety in blighted areas. Unsafe neighborhoods, in turn, impact peoples’ daily lives. Thus, blight may destabilize communities, often resulting in an exodus from affected areas. Blight may also lead to increased costs for the delivery of services, such as police, fire, solid waste, and others. In turn, this may exacerbate reductions in property values beyond what would be expected from depreciation alone. Blight also results in enormous public and private financial losses.
Although there can be many ways to consider decision problems and decision-making situations, when these are multifaceted or when multiple criteria are involved, additional demands are placed on the methodological approach adopted. Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA) (Ackermann and Eden, 2001) and Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) (Belton and Stewart, 2002) have been proposed as particularly adapted to such situations. Not only do these methods allow for modeling complex interrelationships among variables in multifaceted phenomena, but also they facilitate the representation and communication of knowledge, support the identification and the interpretation of information, facilitate consultation and codification, and stimulate mental associations. By directly involving experts on the topic under study, these methods promote greater processual transparency, improve understanding of the decision problem and reduce the likelihood of omitted variables. In this project, the application of these methodologies will require organizing and working with a panel of experts in urban blight and sustainability for at least three group work sessions. The sessions will be guided by the project’s coordinator, who is an experienced facilitator and will guide the group through the process of developing the framework.
In addition to blight being important for discussion and research among academics, we highlight the project’s practical implications by increasing decision-makers’ awareness of causes and effects of blight, as well as costs and benefits of remediation strategies to local jurisdiction. We anticipate that project results will ensure that the interests of future generations in urban sustainability are properly integrated into the current decision-making processes. The results will also raise awareness of the blight issue and effectively change behaviors, strengthening sustainability in urban areas in the Portuguese territory.
| Research Centre | Research Group | Role in Project | Begin Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRU-Iscte | Marketing and Management | Partner | 2018-09-01 | 2020-09-30 |
| Institution | Country | Role in Project | Begin Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Memphis (University of Memphis ) | United States of America | Leader | 2018-09-01 | 2020-09-30 |
| Name | Affiliation | Role in Project | Begin Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Alberto Freitas Ferreira | Professor Catedrático (DMOG); Integrated Researcher (BRU-Iscte); | Global Coordinator | 2018-09-01 | 2020-09-30 |
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With the objective to increase the research activity directed towards the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the possibility of associating scientific projects with the Sustainable Development Goals is now available in Ciência_Iscte. These are the Sustainable Development Goals identified for this project. For more detailed information on the Sustainable Development Goals, click here.
