Stopping Gentrification One Land Trust at a Time?
When house hunting, most people search for a neighborhood that they feel has a sense of community. The picturesque scene of a block party with neighbors and children laughing and bonding is all too common in movies and media. It is clear that neighborhood cohesion is an extremely important part of peoples living conditions because they want their home to be a place that they feel like they belong. The working class residents that originally occupied gentrified neighborhoods are no different and also long to live in a place where they are comfortable.
The simplest definition of gentrification is the transformation of a neighborhood from low value to high value. Critics of gentrification insist that as the new middle class residents move into a low-income area they raise the real estate prices and attract businesses that the original residents cannot afford. In these low value areas, residents generally do not own their homes and are usually renters. The consequence is that the poorer residents are displaced from their homes and social network and struggle to find affordable places to live.
Interestingly enough, Boston is the nation’s top gentrifying city, with 61% of its low-income areas facing gentrification. Throughout Boston, housing affordability has declined as well as the amount of low-income properties due to new middle and upper class interests. Additionally, Boston has the second-highest amount of renters at 67%. As the phenomenon of gentrification continues to spread to Boston, I have begun to wonder about how it will impact my hometown city. The trend is not just isolated to Boston and is affecting a large number of cities across the United States, such as in Washington D.C. and New York City. Since 2000, nearly 20% of low-income neighborhoods nationwide have experienced some type of gentrification.
As gentrification continually spreads to cities and neighborhoods nationwide people are being forced out of their homes by price spikes. Through the use of community land trusts combined with community organization tactics citizens can limit gentrification and therefore limit its negative impact on communities.
There are three major culprits who generally are responsible for gentrification. The middle class residents move into an area, changing the economic and sometimes racial outline of the neighborhood are partially responsible. Real estate developers move into an urban area and upgrade a significant amount of buildings in the neighborhood, real estate prices. Additionally, businesses like luxury coffee shops and expensive supermarket chains follow the new influx of the middle class and sell products that the original residents cannot afford.
The top four gentrifiying cities are Boston, Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco. Generally, the phenomenon of gentrification is usually found in comparably wealthy mid-sized cities that are attractive to the middle class. The desire to live in an area is what drives gentrification, so gentrification is most possible in cities where there are pre-existing accommodations for the middle class outside of their new neighborhood. Cities like Detroit, where there is not a significant amount of economic prosperity generally have comparatively low gentrification rates.
On the surface gentrification sounds as if it would not be a problem. Upgrading one building in a low value area is not bad, but when entire neighborhoods are transformed, there start to be negative consequences such as the displacement of original residents. Though they are not as wealthy as their middle-class counterparts, the lives of the working class are still valid and they deserve a place to live in a community they feel comfortable in.
Gentrification is not an entirely new phenomenon. Though recently there has been increased media attention on the subject, it has been going on nationwide for decades. In 1964, sociologist Ruth Glass coined the term. Lately, there has been an increasing amount of attention by both the government and the general public on the social injustices that result from gentrification.
When all of the impacts on the community are considered, it is clear that gentrification does more harm then good. It has occasionally been suggested that the original residents benefit from and are even appreciative of the influx of newer residents. One article uses an example of a local businessman in a gentrified area that graciously works toward accommodating both the old and new residents. Those who believe that the original residents are thrilled with being pushed out of their homes and neighborhoods because of the higher prices must be naïve. In one gentrified neighborhood of Harlem, the residents were angry and resentful towards the newer residents who they felt behaved as if they were better than the original residents. Furthering this point, in a Dorchester neighborhood recently under the process of being gentrified, original citizens came together and protested the change. To think that original residents are benefitting from being priced out of their homes is utterly ridiculous and it is clear that they are actually being harmed.
Since gentrification is a complicated and widespread issue, many people are impacted by it. Obviously, gentrification affects the working class residents who originally lived in the neighborhood. As previously discussed, they are pushed out of their homes and neighborhoods by increased rents and new local businesses that they cannot afford to shop at, that are focused on pleasing the middle-class. Furthermore, as the new residents move in and original residents are forced out, the landscape of the city changes. Neighborhoods that were once thought of as a sanctuary for the working class are completely transformed into a middle-class paradise. The displaced residents are forced to move elsewhere, therefore changing the landscape. In gentrified neighborhoods, personal crime generally declines as property crimes increase in frequency. Additionally, local government has to deal with the overall effects of gentrification. Government officials are tasked with overseeing gentrification to ensure that the process is following all proper laws and procedures. They are in charge of keeping both original residents and those who gentrify satisfied, which is no easy task.
Gentrification is often thought to have racial undertones. The phenomenon usually impacts minorities, especially neighborhoods made up of African Americans, the most. In the mainstream media gentrification and racism are consistently mentioned together. Spike Lee, a famous African American director, ranted about gentrification and insisted that the phenomenon had racial undertones. The New York City neighborhood he grew up in has recently undergone some changes because of gentrification. Lee and other African Americans impacted by gentrification insist that the majority white middle class has an unreasonable sense of entitlement and they feel that they are better than their minority counterparts.
It is clear that gentrification is a problem and needs a solution to prevent the suffering of the original residents. Unfortunately, there is not just one easy solution to fix gentrification due to its complicated nature. One possible solution is the use of community land trusts. Although, in order to successfully implement the solution, there needs to be various forms of community involvement throughout the neighborhood, since community land trusts alone cannot solve the nationwide gentrification crisis.
One way that residents can work toward preventing gentrification is through the utilization of their local government representatives. Helping all residents, regardless of socioeconomic status is in the job description of government officials. For example, Martha Coakley, the former attorney general of the state of Massachusetts, focused her efforts on suing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for violating state law when non-profit organizations were refused the chance to buy back foreclosed homes in a gentrified neighborhood of Dorchester, an area in Boston. Though most mayors and public officials want a city that is comparable to a middle-class paradise, they are not willing to utilize gentrification and sacrifice the comfort of the working class to reach their desires.
Another viable tool is the use of interethnic alliances. In some working-class neighborhoods there is a clear division between residents based on race. If the original residents worked together to prevent and limit gentrification there would be an increased chance of success. Working with those who are different is far better than being permanently kicked out from the place that they call home. What residents need to realize is that one united front is much more powerful than two divided fronts. Gentrification is a worthwhile cause for residents to put aside their differences to reach a common goal.
Before residents can take any major action in halting gentrification in their area they must first focus on stabilizing existing renters. If residents are successful in stabilizing rent they are less likely to be pushed out by the increasing real estate prices that gentrification brings. One viable tactic used to stabilize rent is to create an emergency fund used specifically for helping those struggling with paying their rent. Therefore, when residents are having trouble paying during a difficult time they will not be evicted.
Community land trusts are helpful in preventing and lessening the impacts of gentrification. They are nonprofit organizations with the main goal of preserving land for long-term development. Local community members govern the community land trusts, which helps residents protect their interests. The main purpose of the land trusts is to help residents resist the pressures of the real estate market, which often fluctuates.
They are often used in areas where gentrification has become a concern due to increasing popularity of the real estate market. The model has spread to cities in Wisconsin, North Carolina, and New Mexico. The continual spread of community land trusts proves that they can actually work in real world applications.
Land trusts have even been used in Boston before, including during the 1980s after the white flight and the heavy disinvestment it caused. Dorchester residents established the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in response to increased interest from the city and developers to transform Dorchester into an area serving the downtown Boston area. Since Dudley does not have to cave into real estate pressures residents have affordable mortgages that allow them the freedom to live without fear of being displaced. Additionally, the land trust will continue to be affordable for new families moving in since the policies Dudley has put into place make it near impossible to flip the house for a major profit, which is how gentrification spreads.
Dudley and community land trusts like it are a good solution to gentrification because they are not used for any one individuals benefit. The governing system made up of community members assures that it will benefit the neighborhood because the residents will advocate for their own interests.
Though community land trusts are a viable solution when added with other solutions, unfortunately the model is not strong enough to solve gentrification on it’s own. Community land trusts are extremely successful when they are used but the plan could not be as sustainable being widely applied in numerous areas of cities. It is unrealistic to think that land trusts could be set up in the 61% of low-income tracts in Boston facing gentrification. Additionally, due to the capitalistic nature of our country widespread application of community land trusts would not be tolerated.
Since it is not realistic to expect that using only community land trusts can solve the problem of gentrification to successfully halt the phenomenon other community organization tactics must supplement land trusts. The negative costs of gentrification far outweigh the positive impact that it leaves on the community. The displacement of the working-class residents from the neighborhood they call home is completely unjust and can no longer be tolerated. Community land trusts are viable solutions when combined with other efforts such as stabilizing renters, utilizing local government representatives, and establishing interethnic alliances between original residents. The displacement caused by gentrification is not something to be taken lightly; it is an issue that has been going on for too long and needs to be solved as soon as possible before more people are negatively impacted.
