![]() There are many of these benefits to be found in St. There are also benefits noted by both studies, including better quality of life and services like education, safety, higher property values, access to groceries, etc. Studies that have now been around a few years show that gentrifying neighborhoods lose their affordable units at five times the rate as non-gentrifying neighborhoods. Even though the most recent studies on gentrification suggest that there was no sign of “large-scale departure of elderly or long-term homeowners” in their Philadelphia experiment, they recognize a higher risk of tax delinquency for those long-term residents. The other studies, which focus on significantly larger metro areas, tend to show a mixed academic consensus, with perhaps still a tilt toward some negative consequences. “In legacy cities housing markets tend to be “loose” and that may mean that displacement pressures are less severe in so-called gentrifying neighborhoods and that economic and racial diversity may be an asset for neighborhoods rather than a problem.” Todd Swanstrom, source: NextSTL Louis, where the housing market is under much less pressure and demand is slower and markets like D.C., Los Angeles, or New York City. There is a huge difference in the level of displacement found in a legacy city like St. Louis, like the Central West End, are retaining their diversity. You can read more in Swanstrom’s article he wrote about the study on NextSTL, but I’ll briefly describe it here too.Įven some of the most “gentrified” neighborhoods in St. As a recent student of Swanstrom myself in UMSL’s Graduate Public Policy program, we have had the opportunity to speak on this topic together to great lengths. Louis’ rebounding neighborhoods do not generally fit this model. Louis, published a study in 2014 that indicated St. Todd Swanstrom, a Professor at the University of Missouri – St. There is a general sort of “Classical Gentrification” that is often examined in some of the U.S.’ largest and wealthiest cities, wherein white, single, and higher income individuals move into a neighborhood and price out a more diverse and lower-income set of individuals who previously occupied that community. That doesn’t mean that it always will be positive, but that we must keep an open mind and keep digging.Īs we have discussed before, the studies on gentrification put forth some mixed messaging. Replacing vacant land with productive development can be very, very positive. Social scientists have studied vacancy for decades, and not only does it cost the city financially, it makes communities significantly less safe. A 300 unit luxury apartment complex built atop a previously vacant lot is significantly different than the same development constructed upon a street of just occupied homes razed only for newer and wealthier residents. Like everything else, there is a good deal of nuance. Not to mention concerns that outside investment adversely impacts current residents.īefore you make up your mind, remember that gentrification is much more complicated than many people attempt to make it seem. Humungous buildings constructed with multimillion dollar budgets ballooned by outside investors who might or might not live in the communities affected may drastically change the physical landscape of the communities they are built in. It seems that we talk about that, at least briefly, in many of our articles here at Missouri Metro. I’m specifically referring to that “G Word”, gentrification. With new development, particularly on such a large scale, we have to talk about the community that “was”, before we get to the community that “will be”. Louis, but before we get to the photos (some better than others, my apologies – didn’t realize some of my camera settings were off), let’s talk about some of the elephants in the room. There is no doubt that is seemingly poised to offer some gorgeous apartments to St. The neighboring Central West End has largely and near exclusively been home to the most dense development and luxury apartment communities, but it seems readily apparent that Manchester might soon host a similar density to that around the BJC Medical Center. For those who have not visited The Grove this last year, you might be in for a shock. We’ve covered a lot of development in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood, particularly along Manchester, where hundreds of new residential units are rising quickly alongside new commercial spaces and restaurant expansions. feet of ground-floor retail will significantly densify and urbanize the Eastern end of The Grove’s commercial corridor on Manchester. Together, their combined 346 luxury apartments and 18,000 sq. Only 2 and a half years after Green Street and the Koman Group opened Chroma and its chic 235 residential units to the public, Chroma’s sister property Hue is nearly complete with an additional 111 modern apartments.
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