Disinvestment and reinvestment - Essay Example

Task: Answer the following questions elaborately What is disinvestment Give examples of this process. Describe what it would be like to live in aneighborhood that has undergone or is undergoing disinvestment. 2. What is reinvestment Describe two types of reinvestment and what it would be like to live in a neighborhood undergoing these processes. 3. What is the community gardening movement How is it related to gentrification Order # 193681 Deadline: 2007-12-02 18:28 Style: General Language Style: English (US) Pages: 6 Sources: 2 Writer ID: 6746 1. Disinvestment refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott, with specific emphasis on liquidating stock, to pressure a government towards policy or regime change. Ronald Reagan, the former American President during his regime the disinvestment movement was at its peak, also opposed it, instead favoring a policy of "constructive engagement" These principles called for corporations doing business in South Africa to adhere to strict standards of non-discrimination in hiring and promotions to set a positive example. The most frequently-encountered method of "disinvesting" was to persuade state, county and municipal governments to sell their stock in companies which had a presence in South Africa, such shares having been previously placed in the portfolio of the state's, county's or city's pension fund. Several states and localities did pass legislation ordering the sale of such securities, most notably the city of San Francisco. The Sudan Divestment Task Force collaborates with Amnesty International, International Crisis Group, a variety of international NGO's, and most of the major socially responsible investing firms in the US. Calvert, the largest socially responsible mutual fund company in the US, has explicitly endorsed the targeted divestment approach as one that exerts maximum influence on the Sudanese government while minimizing unintended consequences, such as the important development role basic commerce in Sudan plays in improving general living standards for all. In simple words Disinvestment takes place when proprietors or people stop investing in the community, building or neighborhoods and thus to end up with slum areas. Disinvestment hampers economic growth of a nation as a barrier of Urbanization. Demographically, the Urbanization denotes redistribution of populations from rural to urban settlements in a process associated with development of civilization. Since disinvestment phase of an economy yields zero to the social and even cultural enhancement of the people, I would feel empathy for the people and the locality during such dark time. From a philanthropic point of view, it curbs the birthright of the populace to live a better life for certain political or demographic reasons. If opportunity prevails, I would love to motivate the populace to work hard in order to attract investors for the welfare and development of the region. 2. Reinvestment as the etymology suggests stands for the economic period when investors foresee dividend in certain area of production and desire to sustain growth with their inputs. When a community or proprietor see value in the land and begin to rehabilitate an area that has lost value over the years and worth fixing such as water front properties paves the way to reinvestment. Remarkably, it is a product or urbanization. There are two major types of reinvestments; Capital Reinvestment and Manpower cohesion. Investors usually accumulate such funds from dividends, interest and capital gains earned in an investmentor mutual fundto purchase additional shares or units, rather than receiving the distributions in cash. Therefore, in terms of stocks, it is the reinvestment of dividends topurchase additional shares. On the other hand, in terms of mutual funds, it is the reinvestment of distributions and dividends to purchase additional units of that fund. Similarly, in terms of tax gain or loss harvesting, it is the realization of losses to offset a capital gains over liability. This is definitely a great way to increase the value of a stock or mutual fund. In the case of stocks, investors can use dividends tobuy additional shares instead of receiving payments in cash. Doubtlessly it would be exciting to see reinvestment in my neighborhood, which forecast developing phase of an economy. We know that capital grows in a cyclical process; hence, reinvestment helps further growth of the economy to bring desired output. It sometimes can change the factors of production leading to adopt better strategy through appropriate infrastructure and resources. It is no wonder; reinvestment is a booming aspect of industrial development via social and economic changes. The best part of reinvestment can be illustrated from Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation of America that supports more than 235 independent local organizations in nearly 4,400 suburban, urban, and rural communities across the country. Programs include building multi-family dwellings and helping low and middle-income families with financing and insurance as well as job creation, community facilities, and economic development in rural areas. The group also offers training for community leaders and would-be homeowners on community planning, green building, and financing among others. 3. Community Gardening movement was a program in the United States to improve the esthetics of a community that highlights a boon of urbanization. In general Community Garden is a piece of land gardened by a group of people. Community gardens provide access to fresh produce and plants as well as access to satisfying labor, neighborhood improvement, sense of community and connection to the environment. They are publicly functioning in terms of ownership, access and management, as well as typically owned in trust by local governments or nonprofits. A city's community gardens can be as diverse as its communities of gardeners can. Some choose to grow flowers, others are nurtured communally and their bounty shared, some have individual plots for personal use, while others are equipped with raised beds for disabled gardeners. Community gardens encourage an urban community's food security, allowing citizens to grow their own food or for others to donate what they have grown. The gardens also combat two forms of alienation that plague modern urban life, by bringing urban gardeners closer in touch with the source of their food, and by breaking down isolation by creating a social community. It has also been found that active communities experience less crime and vandalism. Gentrification has a strong relationship with Community Gardening. It is a phenomenon where physically deteriorated neighborhoods undergo physical renovation and increase in property values along with an influx of wealthier residents. Proponents of gentrification focus on the benefits of urban renewal, such as renewed investment in physically deteriorating locality, improved access to lending capital for low-income mortgage seekers as their property values increase increased rates of lending to minority and first-time home purchasers to invest in the now-appreciating area and improved physical conditions for renters. Often initiated by private capital, gentrification has been linked to reductions in crime rates, increased property values, increased tolerance of sexual minorities, and renewed community activism. Critics of gentrification often cite the human cost to the neighborhood's lower-income residents when debating the topic. They expound that the increases in rent often spark the dispersal of communities whose members find that housing in the area is no longer affordable. Additionally, the increase in property taxes may sometimes force or give incentive for homeowners to sell their homes and seek refuge in less expensive neighborhoods. While those who view gentrification as a positive phenomenon praise its effect on neighborhood's crime rates, those with different paradigms believe that the crime has not truly been reduced, but merely shifted to different lower-income neighborhoods. REFERENCE Ferris, J., Norman, C. & Sempik, J. (2001) People, Land and Sustainability: Community Gardens and the Social Dimension of Sustainable Development. Social Policy and Administration. Guy Ankerl: Urbanization Over speed in Tropical Africa, INUPRESS, Geneva,1986 ISBN 2-88155-000-2 Read More