NEWBURGH – The word “gentrification” used to have a connotation of forcing residents out of an urban community in order to replace them with a more affluent population.
That does not appear to be the case now, think-tank Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress found as it developed its latest paper, “Beyond Gentrification – Finding a Balance.”
Report author, Joseph Czajka, Pattern’s senior vice president for research and development, could have happened in some locations in the past.
“Does it happen right now? We’re not seeing it,” Czajka said. “The point of the report is to talk about mitigating the negative effects of a changing neighborhood and keeping the neighborhoods culturally diverse and keeping the people that live there in place.”
Pattern’s recommendations to mitigate displacement include community benefits agreements, community land trusts, land banks, inclusionary zoning and requiring a certain percentage of homes go to “least likely to apply” candidates in order to increase diversity.
