Actually, I am working with a version of urban renewal projects that I know from my own experience in Baltimore - the demolition of slums and building of new housing and retail that did benefit both the former slum dwellers and the public in general. I can even offer a tour of Baltimore to show these new developments and describe what was there before. AFIK, every single one of these projects received extensive public hearings, there was a lot of opposition mostly of the NIMBY variety but also public input that was implemented in these projects, none of the former residents were kicked into the street, in fact all of them were provided with alternative housing and moving cost reimbursements. I also know for the fact that many residents were actually happy with the development because it offered them a real chance of moving out of the tenements - albeit there were also a few vocal malcontents who made ruckus no matter what was said and by whom.
As I already said, I know that from my own experience, which I am not going to discard simply because someone wrote a book telling a different story. I am not denying that abuses in urban development existed in the past. In fact, the Baltimore development that I just cited was directed in a large part against housing projects built in the 1950s which aimed to segregate poor form the rest of the population. This was the basis of an ACLU law suit that forced the demolition of these projects. I am pretty sure, however, that someone with a radical political agenda can write a book portraying those crime and drug infested tenements as a "vibrant community" destroyed by greedy developers and power hungry politicians.
I stopped paying attention to such spin long time ago and instead look for things that I can see with my own eyes. I do not read papers that rate cities and countries on "livability" indices - because most of it is journalistic bullshit anyway. Instead I look at the physical infrastructure - roads, transit, houses, public services, retail, etc. In the same vein, I offer to anyone really interested about the impact of urban development projects in Baltimore a free tour of these developments. Come and see for yourself how the people who used to live in tenements live now, if facts matter vis a vis ideology.
One more thing. Today, virtually every new construction, let alone an urban renewal project, is a fairly democratic process that involves considerable input form the community. The community can provide substantial input into these projects from the aesthetic aspects to the mix of low income and market housing in those development, or even stop the project. This pertains not only to publicly funded projects (like Hope VI) but also privately funded construction. Again, I know that from my own experience - I sit on those hearings almost every month.
Wojtek