Gentrification
What is it
Gentrification is the process by which a neighborhood undergoes changes (such as the building of a new luxury development, a large institution, etc.) that make the area unaffordable for long-time residents and make way for newer residents to move in, often in better conditions (such as luxury housing, improved amenities and services, etc), and while also changing the demographic makeup of the neighborhood.
How does it show up in Hyde Park
First, a little history… did you know that UChicago was founded upon the displacement of Black people and settler colonialism. Stephen A. Douglass, who purchased the plot of land in Bronzeville that he would later donate to become the Old University of Chicago (est. 1890), built his wealth through a 300-acre plantation in Lawrence County, Mississippi. This property generated his fortune through the enslavement of around 150 women, men, and children, and served as collateral for the bank when he purchased the land for the University.
Urban Renewal
After that, in the 1930s and 40s, UChicago indirectly funded, defended and enforced racially restrictive covenants, “legally enforceable contracts to prevent selling property to non-white people,” in Hyde Park. When those were ruled unconstitutional under the 14th amendment in 1948, UChicago shifted to carrying out urban renewal in Hyde Park, which entailed marking properties for demolition because they were “unsafe.” In reality, 638 buildings were demolished and 4,000 families were displaced, a disproportionate number of these buildings were businesses or homes that belonged to Black folks.
What’s happening today
Today, the University continues to gentrify neighborhoods surrounding campus. An often cited example is the building of the Woodlawn Residential Commons in 2021 on 61st and Woodlawn, which broke a verbal agreement the University had with The Woodlawn Organization to not build past 60th & Woodlawn. Additionally, the University bid for the Obama Presidential Center to be built in either Jackson or Washington Park, which has caused land value to increase in Woodlawn and South Shore, and displaced several longtime residents. Part and parcel with this is the University’s purchasing of properties around the Center to be used for its own purposes.
What can you do about it
There is a grassroots initiative based out of Woodlawn, South Shore and Kenwood-Oakland that is working to combat the gentrification in these neighborhoods – the CBA (Community Benefits Agreement) Coalition. The Coalition is working to pass affordable housing policies that prevent displacement in Woodlawn and South Shore – the policies passed in Woodlawn in 2020, but South Shore is still working to get them passed. UChicago Against Displacement (UCAD) is the student arm of the Coalition and works to hold UChicago accountable for its history of gentrification, and spend part of its $11 bil endowment to fund affordable housing in Woodlawn and South Shore. If you’re interested in joining, check out the link in UCAD’s Instagram bio.
