My coworker from Chattanooga assures me that nobody would want to live in those neighborhoods, and that he is sending the list to friends and family to laugh about.
Perhaps they are indeed all hellholes. If so, I'm very glad I don't live anywhere in Chattanooga. I have never been there, and perhaps it would be idiotic for anyone to take them up on their offer.
But I admire them for trying. I'd like to see more American cities succeed in reviving their urban cores. In so many places in America you have to be a half-hour commute from downtown to live in a safe neighborhood with good schools... and that's just sad.
Most people in Chattanooga live in the burbs, so I feel like there may be skewed perspectives as to what counts as a nice place to live. Downtown can be quite nice by urban standards.
While it might not be the best place for technology in the universe, it's a very nice place to live, and I'm glad that they are incentivizing tech and making the most of their internet infrastructure. It does seem a bit gimmicky overall but the incentives might tilt it to being the best option for some talented people. Who knows.