East Chicago's North Harbor area has been targeted by criminals long enough. It's good to see that area targeted for redevelopment now.

Officials in East Chicago are planning to announce details today of the city's revitalization of the Main Street and Broadway area, the heart of Indiana Harbor.

What sets the North Harbor development apart from so many other urban development plans put forth by developers and urban communities is that this one is actually in progress.

The first phase, construction of townhomes, has already begun. Other elements include improving the neighborhood's parks, streets and more.

That part of East Chicago once held a thriving retail district, but as the city's population shrank from about 58,000 in 1960 to about 34,000 in 2007, retailers followed the exodus of people from the city.

Those retailers won't be returning. However, the city should expect to attract small shops that serve nearby residents -- dry cleaning, coffee shops, small cafes, etc.

But first the city needs to clean up the crime that has plagued the North Harbor area. That part of Indiana Harbor has achieved the dubious distinction of generating more 911 calls than anywhere else in the city.

East Chicago police plan to open a substation in the neighborhood to increase the police presence there. That's good. Families moving to the area need to see the crime rates drop dramatically.

And as new and better housing stock becomes available, some of the good citizens logically will move to the better homes and criminals will be removed. That's as it should be.

East Chicago needs this development to work as it tries to recover from the devastating decline in population and increase in crime that occurred between the 1960s and 1990s.

The population might have stabilized in the last decade, but it needs to grow. That means creating a community in which families can feel safe and have important amenities like shopping, parks and public transportation nearby.

We hope this redevelopment effort works. East Chicago might not return to its 1940s and 1950s glory days, but it needs to reinvent itself to provide a good quality of life in the 21st century.

To see the original Times Editorial click here:

http://nwi.com/articles/2008/11/19/opinion/times_editorials/doc1adf035329100bc186257505008047dc.txt