The future of North Minneapolis will be not be determined by this decision, but this decision could signal a shift in decision making that WILL have long term impacts on our neighborhood.

There is a term I have heard used before, “Gentrification with Justice” that I think could guide our thoughts. The term gentrification is emotionally loaded, it means an area becomes dominated by the “Gentry” the old english word regarding the land-owners and a higher-educated, wealthier class. Gentrification has taken hold in almost all American cities in ways that have had both positive and negative results. In short these are: A) The positive: an impoverished community becomes wealthier – B) The negative; low income people are forced from their communities. There are almost always significant racial shifts as well, as one community is economically replaced with the other.

MY POINT? Few would want to glorify an impoverished community, and the negative impacts it has on education, health, housing and safety. Most all want to see North Minneapolis become a healthier and wealthier community. Yet how do you improve the economic condition of a neighborhood without eventually making the community too expensive for the present residents?

One answer is to insist that the neighborhood create diverse housing stock for mixed incomes. The Plymouth Housing project does this. Led by an organization who has had proven success in managing successful projects and walking with families from homelessness to self-sustainability. The present facility of “Families Moving Forward” has done a excellent job in this, with a very limited facility they provide a nitch in homeless services for families to stay together.

A second way to do “Gentrification with Justice” is housing density. Many times I hear people lament, “why can’t west Broadway be more like Lake Street or Central Ave. NE? – they have so many stores, shops and restaurants.” A close look will show one major difference – housing density. Along Lake and Central are many apartment buildings, without people you cannot have a viable economic zone. While Old Highland loves their beautiful old houses, I wonder do they want North Minneapolis as a whole to become a more prosperous and vibrant community? To see Broadway become a zone that can support a diversity of businesses we need more people living along the Avenue. Density in itself is not a bad thing if it is well structured and well managed as the Plymouth Housing proposal will do.

A third key to maintaining a “just” community, while raising the economic levels in that community, is a commitment to bring everyone along in the process of growth. That means that the low-income family (LIF) that is occasionally homeless but was here before the double-income professional couple (DIP) bought their great home down the street, has a right to stay and the DIP family can not expect that their arrival should merit the LIF’s removal. Moving to a community means you commit to the betterment of all in that community, and not just moving out the people you find undesirable. If you move to the country, you can’t complain about the sights and smells of the farms around you, in the same way, moving to the city comes with some environmental issues you either learn to embrace or obsess over.

I know many of you who have been opposed to the Plymouth Housing Project, would insist that you do NOT want to see people just “moved-out” I know your heats and intentions are good. But we must think past the immediate impact and consider the long-term impacts. North Minneapolis can be an example of something different than the typical forms of gentrification and displacement; we can be a place where struggling families can find acceptance and encouragement from neighbors who welcome them and walk with them in creating a new kind of village.

Some have wondered, why does this money not go to rehabbing the present homes in the neighborhood? I believe this is a false dichotomy. Both can, and need to be done. Houses are being rehabbed: the city, Urban Homeworks, many church and community group are actively getting homes fixed and to families. Fixing a home is also something individuals can and are doing, both for rental and for homesteading. However, large projects like this need the government funding assistance, as few non-profits or small investors can amass the capitol needed to initiate this size of an undertaking, even when it is greatly needed in the neighborhood.

As a pastor and community organizer, I often refer families to FMF and personally know of their commitment to the families they serve and the neighborhood. Having led a church and now a non-profit (Cross Connections) across the street from FMF I know them as not just a good service provider – but as a good neighbor.

This project should move forward, for the families they will help, for the economic strength they will bring to Broadway, and for the richness of diversity and wisdom these families will share with all – from Old Highland to all of the North SIde.