Henry Cisneros On Revitilization And The New Economy

When Henry Cisneros resigned from the Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment in 1996, he left the world of housing to head a Spanish-languagebroadcasting company. Now he's back with a new venture, American CityVista.The company's website describes it as a joint venture to build homes in thecentral areas of many of the nation's major metropolitan areas. The companyand partner, KB Home, pledge to build "large-scale distinctive communitiesin areas where new residential development has not occurred in recentyears." Developments have already opened in San Antonio and Sylmar,California. Cisneros tells Business 2.0 that AmericanCityVista wanted to "focus on building homes on central city sites ...because more and more people are deciding they don't want to live on theoutskirts of cities anymore. ... There's also the whole smart growthmovement that's urging cities to utilize the investment that has alreadybeen made in streets and water systems and utilities."