Infill Development vs Gentrification

The Merriam Webster definition of Gentrification is:  the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents

While there continues to be disagreement about what constitutes successful urban infill, there is general agreement that the term refers to efforts to utilize existing infrastructure when building new structures whether for commercial or residential use. For the most part, there is also agreement that this is good for both "smart growth" reasons since it stops (or at least slows) the ever expanding girth of cities and helps to revitalize existing urban areas and for revitalizing areas that have begun to decline. Herein lies the dilemma.....

I am a huge fan of remodeling and of building in existing neighborhoods. I believe that it can really be a boon to the area, however, building 2000 square foot homes with high end granite counters, jacuzzi tubs and Travertine floors in a neighborhood of 50 year old 1200 square foot homes that the owners have a hard time maintaining let alone improving is not helpful to the folks who live in the neighborhood already. It is, arguably, not even good for the people who might buy the house. Yes, they are paying less for the same house if it were in a different location but is it a good investment for them? Only if they are buying it because they love both the house and the neighborhood and don't really care about the economics of it.

 Ask the people who live across the street or down the block from the new house what they think. They can't afford to have their property values increased because they are already struggling to pay the taxes. Who is going to buy the new home? Either someone who can't afford to buy the same house in a more upscale neighborhood or someone like the builder who built it and is in the process of building seven more on the same street-----oh, yeah, he is trying to buy out the remaining neighbors in the cul de sac where these are located. I love the note in the MLS that says that all 8 of the new homes being constructed here will have fenced yards---he's talking about the FRONT yard folks---- and for some reason I am not visualizing the three foot white picket fence that neighbors used to share iced tea over and grow roses on.

It is quite possible to build good, energy efficient, affordable homes in neighborhoods like this one rather than slightly smaller McMansions that don't really fit the neighborhood. Good builders build those kind of homes everyday. I've run across several of these large new homes lately in working with a buyer who wants a "nice" house but is smart enough to know that she should 

1. Spend a little less than what her lender told her she is approved for.
2. Look for a house that she feels would be a home for many years since she doesn't want to move again in her later years (she's 45)
3. Is large enough for her to enjoy having her children and grandchildren visit but not too large for her to clean and maintain comfortably
4. And in her words, "I know better than to buy the biggest nicest house in the neighborhood - I would never get my money back if I did have to sell it later for some reason".

If one of these homes had been a 1500 square foot home with Saltillo tile instead of Travertine and a simple fireplace rather than an ornate one with expensive finishes and one of many solid surface counter tops rather than granite, good quality EnergyStar appliances and HVAC systems properly sized for the house, it would have cut 25% or more off the cost of the house and brought it down to the price range of the rest of the homes in the area. She would still have had a brand new home she loved in an area that she liked and she would have bought it in a heartbeat. Instead what we have is smaller trophy homes in unlikely places.

Perhaps as the economy and the environmental crisis combine to make more people examine their priorities we will see a shift away from gentrification toward community building which I think is a much more appropriate goal for infill development. Having walkable neighborhoods, energy efficient homes and interacting with our neighbors in a cooperative way that helps us all have a better life can be a path to changing and improving neighborhoods and cities for the better without gentrifying them. Making a neighborhood a better place to live does not have to mean making it unaffordable.