Develpers Are Catching On...

You may have heard me talk about this issue before, but here is an excellent article on gentrification in urban communities - and the power of investment with a 'heart' for the poor.

Bob has been on the forefront of this issue coming from a faith based community development perspective. He helped me formulate some of my thoughts regarding our approach to breaking poverty in our community. In the article Bob states:

"But must gentrification always spell displacement for the poor? To some degree, yes. Yet displacement is not entirely bad. There are drug dealers and other rogues that need to be dislodged from a community if it is going to become a healthy place to raise children. Over-crowded tenements and flop houses should be thinned out or cleaned up and this inevitably means displacement of some of the vulnerable along with their predators. Bringing responsible property management back into a neglected community does spell disruption for those who have chosen or been forced by necessity to endure slumlord economics. But what may be disruptive for the moment can become a blessing for those who yearn for a better way of life if - and this is a big if - the poor are included in the reclamation process by the returning gentry."

Find his article on"Gentrificaiton with Justice" here.

Additionally, Siliconvalley.com reports on urban development issues:

"Developers have long shied away from poorer neighborhoods, believing it is too difficult or even impossible to make a profit there. But Lim said the program aims to show how making money and improving a community are not mutually exclusive.

"We see these low- to moderate-income neighborhoods as an opportunity," Lim said. "If we invest in these areas and revitalize them, we can increase our housing stock." "