Mayor Alan Autry calls it the "Tale of Two Cities" -- the mix of concentrated poverty and prosperity that exists only a few miles apart in a city that has grown away from its center.
The neighborhoods left behind have withered.
Autry has worked with the City Council to help, creating the No Neighborhood Left Behind program to restore aging sidewalks and gutters in older areas.
How to continue shoring up neighborhoods and expanding job possibilities will be the challenge for the next mayor.
The Bee asked candidates their views on growth and economic development: How would they rejuvenate some of the city's aging -- and ailing -- neighborhoods? How would they attract new residents, and what would they do to find jobs for those people?
Valley Races 2008Ashley Swearengin, on leave from her job as director of the Regional Jobs Initiative, said that revitalizing older neighborhoods and erasing the blight of poverty are vital for Fresno.
"Fresno has the highest number of neighborhoods in concentrated poverty of any other large city in the United States," Swearengin said. "We cannot be a top-tier city in California if we do not address the conditions in these neighborhoods."
Swearengin believes that increasing employment, and education opportunities that lead to jobs, will have a lasting effect on reducing poverty and crime.
Police detective Henry Monreal said every neighborhood has its own character, and that should be embraced.
"We need to preserve that while we work to revitalize our blighted areas," Monreal said.
Monreal also wants to encourage development of business parks to attract new employers and more jobs -- especially well-paying jobs -- to Fresno. Economic development would help finance improvements to the city's neighborhoods, he said.
Council Member Henry T. Perea, whose City Council district includes some of the oldest neighborhoods in Fresno, said those areas deserve help.
"I believe we must rebuild Fresno's first suburbs to help curb sprawl, ease traffic congestion, create affordable housing and support working families," Perea said.
Perea said he would focus on investment in the city's urban core and increased homeownership. He would create plans to encourage developers to turn dilapidated shopping centers into projects that include shops and housing.
Fresno Deputy Mayor Jeff Eben said that the current efforts to revitalize neighborhoods through No Neighborhood Left Behind have put thousands of dollars into some of the city's poorest areas. It's an effort Eben would expand.
Eben also is not afraid to use the government's eminent domain powers to protect neighborhoods from absentee owners who allow property to deteriorate.
Eben said the city needs to follow its 2025 General Plan, which calls for transit-oriented development, higher density and better use of land. To create more jobs, Eben said he would help businesses navigate the city's permitting requirements and publicize incentives offered to help businesses grow.
Council Member Jerry Duncan said restoring older neighborhoods is key to ensuring that everyone in Fresno has a good quality of life. Fresno residents "rightfully deserve to live in neighborhoods that are properly maintained," Duncan said.
Duncan said improving neighborhoods will take a multitiered approach that includes repairing streets and sidewalks, encouraging more entry-level housing projects, improving code enforcement and expanding recreational trails.
"Fresno has some challenged neighborhoods," Duncan said. "How do we fix them? It starts by involving members of the neighborhood who want to see change."
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