7 Paths to Development That Bring Neighborhoods Wealth, Not Gentrification

The plan to build better, more connected, flourishing communities is here—and it won’t require putting a Starbucks on every block.

By Marjorie Kelly & Sarah McKinley / Yes! In cities across the nation, a few enjoy rising affluence while many struggle to get by. An August 2015 study by The Century Foundation reported that—after a dramatic decline in concentrated poverty between 1990 and 2000—poverty has since reconcentrated. Nationwide, the number of people living in high-poverty ghettos and slums has nearly doubled since 2000. This situation is created in part by the practices of traditional economic development, which prioritize corporate subsidy after corporate subsidy over the needs of the local economy. Current trends threaten to worsen, unless we can answer the design challenge before us. Can we create an economic system—beginning at the local level—that builds the wealth and prosperity of everyone?   [Read more...]