The last time I checked my memory banks I haven’t heard any message at a church gathering dealing with the church’s response to gentrification. While many probably don’t know what the term is they’ve seen what it is about if they’ve driven through a city. Simply put, gentrification is “the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.”
There are many things about it that are wonderful and good. Who doesn’t want to see a decaying inner city neighborhoods turn around, reclaim its historical roots, and become beautiful? What city doesn’t want or need an influx of people moving back into the city? Many times these are the neighborhoods that became “hoods” full of drugs, prostitution, and violence. I remember talking to a church planter in the Lafayette Park neighborhood in St. Louis and he told me about the early gentrifiers in that area. If you go there today what you’ll see are gorgeous old homes that have been refurbished along with trendy shops, coffee shops, and eateries popping up. But 20 years ago it was the people who lived there who decided to take their neighborhood back. It was one of the city’s leading areas as far as drug use/sales and prostitution. But the homeowners would walk the streets and the alleys at night in tandems watching over their neighborhood determined to take it back. Now that’s an amazing story!
The only point of struggle is when lower income families get priced right out of their neighborhood. How should the church respond? I think one of the ways they can is to build a relationship with local city leaders as well as the developers and business owners. This was they can be a voice calling for the fair treatment of those less fortunate whether that is making sure there are provisions for affordable housing in the neighborhood or adequate schools and so on. While I know many want to make these gentrified neighborhoods exclusive enclaves there’s something to be said when people can rub shoulders on a regular basis that spans racial as well as socio-economic lines. The church can help foster this leading to things like reconciliation and the fair treatment of those less fortunate.
