How to Build a New Park So Its Neighbors Benefit

Deck parks, such as the Oak Cliff neighborhood's newly opened Halperin Park, are built over roadways to form bridges that become space for recreation and community programming and are often proposed in areas historically harmed by freeway construction. Halperin Park is Dallas's second deck park project, and the first, Klyde Warren Park, has brought in more than a million visitors annually and helped generate roughly $8 billion in growth in the surrounding neighborhood, though concerns around gentrification persist.

In Michigan, the organization Friends of Grand Rapids Parks is working to increase shade in the city by planting trees. With permission from landowners, they will plant and care for trees on the property.

The Homestead Community Land Trust offers affordable home ownership in Seattle and the rest of King County, Washington, ensuring that there is always permanently affordable homes available. This opens up homeowner opportunities for those who have historically been excluded and serves as a stem in the tide of gentrification. This article includes personal testimony from people who live in the housing, and already the program has reduced buyers' costs by 30%.

In Washington D.C., the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase act, gives tenants the right to be the first in line to buy the building they live in, if it goes up for sale. The city, also has a trust fund that finances affordable housing, and provides funds for people looking to purchase a building and create a co-op. Together, these things make it easier for tenants to access affordable housing, and fight gentrification. So, far the city has 137 co-ops. "Now we get to choose our neighbors, we get to set our own rules, and we’re in control of our living conditions.”

In the face of gentrification in their South Bronx neighborhood, Mott Haven, residents responded by creating the Mott Haven Port Morris Community Land Trust. Inspired by the Cooper Square Committee land trust, Mott Haven’s land trust wants to be responsible for the area’s affordable housing, and it also hopes to facilitate community-building.

Community land trusts, like the Florida Keys Community Land Trust (FKCLT) help people access affordable housing and aid in disaster recovery by stopping land from entering the real estate market and increasing in price. FKCLT rents land trust units to families earning 80% or less of the local median income at about $1,000 per month.

The nonprofit Black to the Land Coalition is working to expose more members of BIPOC communities to outdoor activities and the healthy benefits that come with being nature. They have partnered with other organizations to help alleviate costs and they’ve done activities like archery, camping, and kayaking. “We’re creating opportunities for Black and brown people to engage in natural spaces beyond the playscapes and basketball courts,” says one of the founders. “We’re taking on the outdoor world, period.”

Platte Farm Open Space used to be a garbage dumping ground in Denver, but it’s now an urban green space thanks to the efforts from community members, organizations, and the government. This community-led project was able to secure funding to replace the contaminated land with fresh soil that now attracts animals and includes walking paths and a playground for children. This project offers lessons on how to build a green space in a diverse neighborhood and the health benefits that come from such an initiative.

An Equitable Development Initiative was launched as a result of a racial equity analysis that gauged the effect that Seattle’s economic growth would have on communities of color. Funding for the initiative has gone toward capital for these communities to purchase real estate and develop projects that build up affordable housing, child care, food security, and other issues that would best serve longtime residents and prevent gentrification.

A "right-to-purchase" policy has enabled nonprofits to purchase residential buildings in gentrified neighborhoods in order to prevent the displacement of those relying on rent-controlled housing. Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) is a Bay Area nonprofit leading the cause to counter gentrification and prevent developers from purchasing residential buildings that house low and moderate-income households. MEDA has purchased and managed 32 buildings and is one of fewer than 10 nonprofits in the area that exercise the "right-to-purchase" policy.