StLMag, November 9, 10 Bold Solutions To Move St. Louis Forward
The key to solving gentrification might be rethinking how we define it. An influx of new businesses, new people, and new money—or gentrification—can be a driver of economic growth. But if it’s coupled with cultural displacement—increasing housing costs to the point where lower-income folks can’t afford to live there anymore—it comes at a steep price.
In 2019, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition released a study. It looked at census data from 2000–2013 to try and suss out demographic changes indicative of gentrification and displacement. The good news: Though gentrification was common in the country’s most populated cities, it was actually pretty rare in smaller and midsize ones.