"The term 'green gentrification' seems to have taken the world of parks and recreation by storm in the past few years. Passionate discussions about the role of parks in gentrifying neighborhoods and the risk of displacing the very residents that parks were meant to benefit have packed rooms and spilled out into the halls and have been explored on field trips.
"No one says, 'we build parks, it's not our job to worry about affordable housing' anymore. It has become clear that it is everyone's job to worry about ensuring that parks are part of equitable community development, so that the people who most need the benefits of parks are able to stay in their communities and enjoy those benefits. Otherwise, park advocates, planners and builders are now realizing they may actually be building parks for the new wealthy residents who will replace longtime, low-income residents.
"The field of parks and recreation has come to recognize that when large parks are built in low-income neighborhoods, they might be contributing to, starting or accelerating gentrification, a process involving the influx of new, wealthier and, often, white residents. Research shows that the threat of green gentrification is real in many U.S. cities. Because parks make low-income neighborhoods more desirable, they contribute to increasing housing prices and can lead to the displacement of longtime residents for whom many park equity efforts are designed and funded to serve."
A recent article in Parks & Recreation Magazine explored a number of substantive efforts designed to limit green gentrification.
To access the complete article, please visit:
Parks and Recreation Magazine: Greening Without Gentrification (December 2019)
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