Gentrification and the Law: Combatting Urban Displacement

摘要

Legal and policy aspects of gentrification are studied. Gentrification is the process whereby rapid increases of public and private investment in a neighborhood are accompanied by the replacement of lower income residents by those with higher incomes. Three communities in the Los Angeles area were studied in some depth -- Venice, North University Park, and Pasadena. Economic and fiscal policy issues include real property taxation and antiredlining. Housing costs can be regulated through rent stabilization, conversions, and antispeculation measures, such as residency requirements and taxing speculative gain. Land use controls and environmental protection are other methods of regulating for housing. The physical conditions of housing can be affected by code enforcement or historic preservation, both of which can worsen the problems of gentrification. The Federal Government could ease gentrification problems by using certain HUD provisions and applying relocation laws. Tables, maps, and chapter footnotes are included.