NBR has outstanding infrastructure with a comprehensive road grid, well-developed schools, sidewalks, major freight rail access, and even underground utilities in parts. It's conveniently located near 2 of the state's largest employers: Exxon and the state government offices.

There are only 4 things holding back NBR:
1. Bad building codes that make it impossible or prohibitively expensive to demo or renovate existing blighted buildings.

2. State's inventory tax resulted in warehouses relocating just accross state lines in Texas and Mississippi to avoid the tax, resulting in dozens upon dozens of abandoned warehouses all over NBR.

3. Crime.

4. Bad school performance.

The latter two are inextricably tied to the population that lives there, while the former could be easily changed administratively. Retail won't come because the "shrinkage" rate (i.e. How much shoplifting they can expect) is too high and the real estate is run down. Building codes make renovation too expensive (need to improve electrical system and fire protection to modern codes, need for ADA compliance which requires specific door widths, handi-accessible bathrooms, and wheel chair ramps) or impossible (needed number of parking spots on lots with no room to expand), so it all sits idle.

The only way to fix the latter two problems is with entitlement reform. The people of NBR don't not work because they cannot or because there are not enough jobs. They don't work because entitlements permit them not to and punish them for doing so. Thus, they have to turn to crime to suppliment their incomes without risking losing their subsidies. Since black markets don't have courts and police to resolve their disputes, violence governs. The government is a shitty landlord (no requirements by section 8 landlords to maintain their properties and tenets, seeing as this is their only option, don't care) so the section 8 properties quikly deteriorate. People who don't plan on working for a living don't care about school because school holds no value to them, and public schools, these days, teach few tangible, interesting, or obviously useful knowledge for these kids, so they only go because they have to, and f$&k up the education for everyone. The government won't allow the schools to discipline them, so they just become a nuisance.

Government has failed NBR and countless neighborhoods like it, and forced all law abiding citizens to pay the price.

This post was edited on 1/3/17 at 1:00 pm