HOW TO INOCULATE AGAINST THE GENTRIFICATION VIRUS

Neighbourhood renewal is essential in the life cycle of any flourishing city. Existing housing stock ultimately needs to be replaced, renovated or renewed. However, if this process isn’t managed carefully it can result in a situation where affordable housing is renewed or replaced with costly new housing that displaces existing residents and homeowners. This process is known as gentrification and once this process starts in a neighbourhood the change is virtually irreversible. New affluent residents can transform a traditional working class area imposing in the neighbourhood a new social identity. As illustrated in my last post the fundamental economic and social conditions are emerging for just such a phenomenon to take hold of Elmwood. If it is labelled as an ‘up and coming’ area in the minds of qualified buyers the gentrification process will be difficult to counteract and can take on a life of its own.

Elmwood can renew, flourish and still maintain the core of its identity. First the community needs to actively increase its density. This increase in density is essential for creating a sustainable city and combating urban sprawl, while increasing a tax base to pay for infrastructure renewal and much needed services. A sustained effort to increase density will result in more supply of housing and a variety of housing types allowing for new development that creates space to meet the needs of existing residents. 

Secondly it is vital that existing property values are maintained relative to other areas of the city. Low property values typically attract absentee landlords or gentrifying developments. Absentee landlords are looking to for a quick return on investment and have little concern for the wellbeing of the neighbourhood. Affluent individuals and developers intent on tearing down and rebuilding a neighbourhood will likely displace Elmwood residents since their primary focus is on their own needs and not necessarily on the needs of the existing community.

They way in which to maintain values and inoculate against gentrification can be mounted on a number of fronts. The City of Winnipeg needs to be vigilant in inspecting absentee landlord properties as well as vacant and boarded up properties. Residential upkeep programs such as RRAP (Residential Repair Assistance Programs) need to be maintained and the expansion of eligible improvements and total costs would be optimal. Community initiatives that support schools, community and recreation programs funded by all levels of government and community organizations support and enable positive public synergies. It goes without saying that policing that is responsive to incidents but also has a presence outside of emergency and criminal activity is crucial to creating a safe and desirable community.

If these objectives can be realized the process of renewal will be more stable and will result in significantly less displacement of the current residents in the community.

Is Elmwood Losing its Community Identity?

John van Leeuwen speaking with Daniel Blaikie - March 13, 2017 at the 

Elmwood Affordable Housing Town Hall. Photo, Metro News, Dyan Martin. 

The Elmwood community has seen a number of its important community symbols under stress. The closure of the Kelvin Community C.C. and the proposed redevelopment of it into a commercial building was defeated by the combined effort of the community and its elected officials at all three levels of government. The historic fire hall on Talbot and the community programming it offered was also in jeopardy after its main tenant Youth for Christ relocated to its new building on Main Street. Providentially Riverwood Church took over the building and redeveloped it so that it includes more accessible social spaces and programming for the diverse needs of the community.  

While the community responded in positive ways to these threats the response has been piecemeal in comparison to the fundamental transformation, both economically and socially,   taking place in the neighbourhood. The thriving housing market in Winnipeg has resulted is many young families looking to Elmwood as an area to find adequate housing they can afford since they are being priced out of other areas. At the same time ‘millennials’ are looking at Elmwood as an attractive area to purchase housing since they want to be within walking distance of downtown jobs and amenities. These forces have driven up the price of housing in the area. 

While this may seem like a good thing for many homeowners in the area the advance in price is only advantageous if they are looking to sell their homes in the near future. For many residents in the community the cost of owning a home has risen drastically as houses become more expensive. This increase in property values has meant sizeable increases in property and school taxes. At the same time the higher prices for commodities and transportation has created a significant rise in the costs of building materials for home renovations while contractor and home renovation services have increased due to high demand and shortage of skilled trades. These costs have to be borne by many residents on fixed incomes or employed in employment that has not seen increases in wages relative to the increases in cost of living. As a result many homeowners have not kept up with required repairs, which means the value of their properties have not risen as much as other properties in the area who have been able to maintain their homes.          

This is why the Member of Parliament, Daniel Blaikie's, recent hosting of a forum on affordable housing was very much welcomed. The proactive approach to these issues will help in determining the needs and future potential of housing development in the community, and provide a framework by which an action plan can be developed. A panel of community and business leaders was assembled with Mr. Blaikie moderating the discussion. A question period followed. While there was general agreement that neighbourhood renewal was vital to the survival and flourishing of a city many concerns were raised about what it would do to a working class neighbourhood like Elmwood.  A key discussion point was the impact of  ‘gentrification’ and the displacement of existing residents if Elmwood is deemed an up and coming community. A great deal of concern was raised about the impact of what it would mean to residents if they were forced to move. The disruption in social networks which allowed them to survive, such as community connections, access to health services, food banks, these would all have to be reestablished after years of forming, sometimes decades. While no definitive steps were taken, residents were encouraged to connect with Elmwood Community Resource Centre  to support affordable housing initiatives in the area.       

Next Blog Article:  How To Inoculate Against The Gentrification Virus.