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Gentrification Doesn’t Have To Be A Dirty Word

Nashville is undergoing rapid growth. Is it gentrifying neighborhoods or redeveloping them?
Photo via Gresham Smith

Last week, my wife and I took a short 3-day trip to Nashville without the kids. I’m not quite sure what we were expecting, but all through our travels of downtown Nashville and some surrounding neighborhoods, we saw cranes putting up skyscrapers and condos, excavators digging foundations, and a plethora of new housing options coming in 2020. Things were gleaming and new. Areas felt sanitized and non-gritty.

All of this made me wonder about the push-pull dynamic of the redevelopment versus gentrification debate that seems to surround urban areas. Gentrification is a word that drips with negative connotations for many. By definition, it is the process through which the dynamic of an area is changed by an influx of affluent residents.

For me, redevelopment is always a good thing. An area that is rundown only further perpetrates the downward spiral of crime and poverty. By clearing an area and getting it ready for new private development, a neighborhood can completely re-invent itself.

In the past two decades, Pittsburgh’s prime examples of the gentrification debate have been on display in Lawrenceville and East Liberty. Lawrenceville in the mid-90’s was a crime and drug-infested area of Pittsburgh, right on the doorstep to the City. Artists such as Duane Rieder of the Clemente Museum took a chance and bought some cheap property, then some restaurants took a chance, then some young people (both well-heeled and not) bought some cheap property. Today, it is officially an overheated market, with private developers building mostly market-rate condos and apartments. The same basic pattern is true for East Liberty.

There may be few good property deals in Lawrenceville today, but is that a bad thing' It’s now a vibrant destination neighborhood for both locals and tourists. Property values are up and it is no longer on the brink.

If a wide-scale neighborhood redevelopment can also provide affordable housing and resources for the whole spectrum of socioeconomic residents that reside there, it’s not gentrification for me. It’s progress.

We spoke about Nashville’s rapid growth and building boom with many of our Lyft drivers, except the one that looks like he just did some crime time right before he picked us up. One of our drivers, an African-American native resident, cut right to the core. He said, “If you’re not growing, you’re falling behind.” Five years ago, 400 people were moving to Nashville per day. Today, it has slowed to ‘only’ 100 people per day. They just can’t keep up with housing demands.

People moving back into cities is a good thing. One of my core philosophies is that you build from the center out, no matter what your endeavor is. If you don’t have a strong core (or base), your whole enterprise will fail. Urban areas went through a rough period from the 1960’s to 1990’s, but now there’s a renewed interest in urban life, especially for those that already work in a city. Cities are the economic drivers of entire metropolitan areas. If people don’t want to live and work in a city, that’s bad for the region.

And yes, I’m typing this from a suburban house. And no, I’m not able to view urban redevelopment though the lens of a minority living in the lower ends of the income brackets. But taking something rundown and making it nicer is good for the overall health of a city. As long as some portion of it is reserved for affordable options, the specter of gentrification dissolves into the avatar of redevelopment.

Nerd engineer by day, nerd writer at night. Kevin is the co-founder of The Point of Pittsburgh. He is the author of Creating Christ, a sci-fi novel available on Amazon.

9 Comments on Gentrification Doesn’t Have To Be A Dirty Word

  1. I used to live in Nashville and I agree with 90 percent of this post. However, in places like Nashville and really almost every other version of gentrification I’ve ever seen, there are few to (most of the time) no affordable options. Where I live now in California, builders are required to provide a certain amount of affordable housing when they build, but the max income allowed is so low I don’t know how anyone affords it even if they qualify. Plus the waiting lists are years long.

    When I left Nashville in 2005, it was pretty affordable. Now it’s the most expensive city in the south, besides possibly Charleston.

    I watched the same thing happen to my hometown of Houston. Used to be you could live in the middle of town in a cool neighborhood for really cheap. Now you can’t. Just the way it is. Everyone I know who still lives there constantly complains about it, but I’m not sure why they bother. It’s not going to change.

    When the money decides they want something, the money gets it. Unless you’re rich yourself, it’s useless to worry about it.

    Within a couple of years, I will be priced out of where I live now and will have to move, most likely back to the south. Nashville is off the table, partially because it’s so expensive, and partially because the growth has made it a very frustrating place to live in some ways. I’ll probably end up somewhere that will be affordable when I get there and then won’t be soon after that and I’ll spend the rest of my life bitching about it. LOL.

    Great piece!

    • Kevin Creagh // July 17, 2019 at 8:59 PM //

      We were in 12South, Germantown, the Gulch, and downtown. I'm curious if you would recognize some of those areas ' the change is amazing

      • Definitely. Especially downtown. I worked at the Country Music Hall of Fame from 2004-2005. I went back last November and couldn’t believe the changes. Downtown was actually a pretty mellow place on weekdays when I was there and now it’s just insane. Germantown was already really undergoing a renaissance when I was living there. A smart friend of mine had bought a run down house there right before the boom and fixed it up, sold it and moved out of town with the profits. I think Memphis is the next hotspot and I wish I was in a position to move right now because I’d love to get there before it goes crazy.

  2. Those that oppose gentrification and redevelopment usually do so due to their inability to afford higher prices. The fail to accept that progress stops for no one. Obtaining an education and learning marketable skills is a personal responsibility. If you do those things you won’t be challenged when progress is made.

  3. Bob Stover // July 17, 2019 at 11:01 AM //

    I would point out to you that Pittsburgh’s Mexican War Streets on the Northside are an excellent example of both gentrification and renewal. There is no one size fits all. A lot of Nashville’s music history is being destroyed, from bars where the greats played in their early years, to half a dozen small recording studios, including Sun Records, (think Elvis Pressley), have been razed to make way for new housing and office space that changes the character of the city, and not in a good way.

    • Kevin Creagh // July 17, 2019 at 8:52 PM //

      I didn't want to turn the article into a travelogue on our trip, but we went to a very cool bar with a ton of history called Skull's Rainbow Room. So many huge huge names have played this tiny stage (inc Elvis).
      It's in a small area called Printers Alley that we enjoyed.

  4. Sun is in Memphis not Nashville. Pretty sure Sun will never be razed. The entire Elvis fanbase would descend on Memphis before they let that happened.

    But your point is the same. Nashville is being changed, not for the better, but I’m not sure it can be helped. People want to live there and they have money so they will be accommodated.

  5. Bob Stover // July 17, 2019 at 11:48 AM //

    According to USA Today, Nashville was not among the top 25 in population growth in 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/09/americas-fastest-growing-cities/39442201/.

    Will Music Row exist in 25 years? 50 years? https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2019/05/30/music-row-nashville-endangered-historic-landmark/1277751001/

    • Kevin Creagh // July 17, 2019 at 8:57 PM //

      Yes, it has slowed as I said, but in past 2 censuses, there has been +10% growth each decade. 2020 will be a third double digit growth spurt.

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