Gentrification’s Third Way: A Analysis of Housing Policy & Gentrification in Providence
by MATTHEW JERZYK
This article examines gentrification in the national housing market and, more specifically, in Providence, Rhode Island and the recent development debate in Providence’s poorest neighborhood, Olneyville. While both national and local commentators have disagreed on the benefits and disadvantages of gentrification, this phenomenon has been underway in Olneyville for almost a decade. Recent developments in Olneyville may illustrate how to mitigate the harmful effects of gentrification for urban neighborhoods whose residents are seeking economic rebirth after the devastation of the foreclosure crisis. Housing policies that target the redevelopment of former industrial buildings, in concert with development tax incentives, targeted rent control, and inclusionary zoning initiatives have the potential to increase the economic, social, and political capital in America’s poorest neighborhoods, reduce absentee landlordism, increase meaningful home-ownership opportunities, diminish displacement of neighborhood residents, and build multiracial and mixed-income neighborhoods.
