What are some effective strategies for addressing gentrification in your community?

2 Collaborate with partners

Another key strategy to address gentrification is to collaborate with other organizations and institutions that share your vision and mission. This can include other nonprofits, local governments, businesses, foundations, and academic institutions. By collaborating with partners, you can pool resources, expertise, and influence, and create synergies and alliances that can enhance your impact and reach. You can also leverage your partners' networks and platforms to raise awareness, advocate, and mobilize support for your cause. Collaboration can also help you avoid duplication, competition, and fragmentation, and foster a more coordinated and holistic approach to addressing gentrification.

3 Promote affordable housing

One of the main drivers and consequences of gentrification is the lack of affordable housing for low-income and marginalized residents. As property values and rents rise, many people are forced to move out of their neighborhoods or face housing insecurity and homelessness. Therefore, promoting affordable housing is a crucial strategy to address gentrification and prevent displacement. This can involve supporting policies and programs that protect tenants' rights, regulate rent increases, and provide subsidies and vouchers. It can also involve creating and preserving affordable housing units, such as public housing, cooperative housing, and community land trusts, that are accessible and responsive to the community's needs and preferences.

4 Support local businesses

Another aspect of gentrification that affects the community is the loss of local businesses that provide essential goods and services, as well as employment and income opportunities. As new businesses cater to the higher-income residents, many local businesses struggle to compete or survive, or are replaced by chain stores and franchises. This can erode the economic and social fabric of the community and reduce its diversity and vitality. Therefore, supporting local businesses is a vital strategy to address gentrification and preserve the community's character and identity. This can involve providing financial and technical assistance, such as grants, loans, training, and marketing, to help local businesses grow and thrive. It can also involve creating and promoting local business networks, associations, and cooperatives, that can foster collaboration, solidarity, and advocacy among local entrepreneurs.

5 Celebrate culture and history

Another dimension of gentrification that impacts the community is the change or loss of culture and history that define the community's sense of place and belonging. As new residents and businesses move in, they may bring different values, norms, and expectations, or impose their own tastes and preferences, that can clash with or overshadow the existing culture and history of the community. This can result in cultural displacement, assimilation, or appropriation, and diminish the community's pride and identity. Therefore, celebrating culture and history is a key strategy to address gentrification and honor the community's heritage and legacy. This can involve creating and preserving cultural spaces, such as museums, galleries, and libraries, that showcase and document the community's stories and achievements. It can also involve organizing and supporting cultural events, such as festivals, parades, and performances, that celebrate and share the community's traditions and expressions.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?