More than 20 local residents shared their viewpoints and concerns regarding gentrification at a WHYY Bridging Blocks event on Tuesday night. The conversation comes as Philadelphia has seen an increase in housing units, but a lack of affordability.
According to data from Pew Charitable Trusts, the median price for a single-family, entry-level home in Philly increased by 171 percent from 2021. Conversations at the event involved small and large group discussions to tackle this issue and brainstorm solutions.
The event centered on several topics, including a lack of investment in communities, racial disparities, political concerns and overemphasis on money.
WHYY News’ Brisa Luzzi Castro hosted and moderated the event. She explained the complexity of the issue and the aim of the event.
“Not only are we thinking critically, but also how can we move toward solving some of these problems, or what can we do now to get there?” she said.
Residents were then invited to watch a video explaining gentrification.
What is gentrification?
Residents enjoyed the historical context, but many agreed the complexity of the issue made a single, short video on the topic difficult to put together.
Participants were then asked to comment on their own experiences, both to the entire crowd and in smaller groups. The discussions, guided by questions, involved themes of disparities and reflections on people’s experience benefitting from or being negatively affected by gentrification.
There was a wide variety of opinion across groups.
Jim Clark is from Jenkintown. He shared his group’s conversation during discussion.
“[We had] a great conversation about how services seem to improve in a neighborhood as it gets gentrified,” he said. “This is unfair, because why weren’t those services always there, always being good?”
He added that gentrification can often be tied to schools and education. He said this can lead to different levels of quality of education in different areas.
“Why aren’t schools great throughout the city?” he asked.
Other residents discussed the gentrification in Fishtown and Kensington – with some participants describing the vibes of the town as “inauthentic” and “unsettling.”
One Philly resident talked about the disparities that can be created as residents are pushed out of their homes.
“If people are in their elderly [years] and have owned a home and paid their taxes all these years, then exempt them,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Give them a break, you’ve done enough already. And you can stay here, please do.’ ”
Another participant shared that her father lives in North Philly. She said he has had to be firm in standing his ground that he will not sell his home, despite developers trying to buy it from him and push out other residents.
Others talked about the need for more resources for homeowners to encourage the beautification and stability of all neighborhoods. A big topic of conversation was the many resources that exist to protect renters or homeowners from landlords, damages or expensive charges, which many argued wouldn’t be needed if the system was better designed to benefit homeowners and residents.
As for the “solution” to gentrification, there were creative ideas and suggestions echoed throughout the room.
How do we address gentrification?
Nicole Levy lives in West Philly. She said a big issue with gentrification is often the lack of information and connection with developers.
“One of the invisible players in this whole issue of gentrification seem to be the developers,” she said.
Levy said she is often involved in these kinds of conversations and that while these discussions almost always involve neighbors and community members sharing their experiences, there isn’t much information or word from developers or real estate speculators.
“We hear about people coming in and buying bundles of property, and you cannot find out who these people are,” she said.
Levy suggested that ethics boards, lawyers or other resources to protect homeowners and renters may not be necessary if developers were more involved or visible in the community.
“If you want to come in and build in our city, somewhat be in the community,” she said. “We want to know you, you want to show up and that’s the only way you’re coming in here.”
Event co-host Rushawn Stanley agreed with these sentiments, and said he reached out to several developers ahead of the event, and received no responses.
The issue resonated with other attendees, who said they had oftentimes not known the rental company that manages their apartment or do not have any information on the developer.
Stanley emphasized that while there may be resources available, it is oftentimes difficult for residents to find out where to begin or who to reach out to, which can present further issues.
Another potential solution Levy mentioned was investing locally.
“One of the things we can do is move our money,” she said. “We have some great Black-owned banks in Philadelphia. We have Asian Bank, we have credit unions, we have local banks. And when we have local control of our money, we get to decide where our investments go. And when you have all of your money in big banks, big banks do money with big businesses.”
Clark, the Jenkintown resident, says getting involved in the community can make all of the difference.
“We can immediately make a difference by being involved in our neighborhoods, and I get the sense that a lot of us are,” said Clark. “Volunteer, food banks, libraries, Scouts, our schools, the more involved we are, the better our neighborhood becomes.”
Margo Robinson, who lives in Northeast Philadelphia, said voting and political engagement are just as important as being present into the community.
“Philadelphia has a lot of potential,” she said, “but people don’t participate. People sit back and want other people to do it for them. And then they’re going to complain about politicians. But they keep voting the same ones in.”
Robinson said it is also residents’ personal responsibility to show up to meetings and participate in their community to inspire meaningful change.
“What happens is that the vast majority of people in the community do not come to community meetings,” Robinson said. “And then the other thing that happens is that if you have another meeting, the same five people show up.”
Other program participants brought up the lack of accessibility or marketing of certain meetings that may make this difficult.
The next Bridging Blocks event is next Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. It will be located at Roxborough Library. Prospective attendees can register here.
