Accentuating the Positive in Syracuse Regeneration

"No one seems left out of the loose partnership among the mayor, university chancellor, assorted neighborhood groups and business associations. The positive spirit is palpable just talking to local residents and activists and viewing reviving rundown areas spread around town.

'There is a ‘can do’ sense throughout the city,' says designer and preservation activist Beth Crawford, 'a sense that neighborhoods can fight for what they need and want, oppose demolitions, achieve good planning and needed enforcement.'"

Gratz writes that the city is focusing its efforts on adding promising elements and developments to the city, rather than focusing solely on downsizing empty homes.