What Now?

I think in order for us to see real, tangible change with gentrification we would need to change the way we view it. Instead of viewing it as something that forces minorities out of their communities, we need to be thinking of it as something that minorities can benefit from. That would involve numerous changes in which values we put our emphasis on. For starters, we would need to place more value on integrity, competency (for all involved, not just social workers), importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, Judaeo-Christian values, compassion, patience, and understanding. Most of this is possible if you have empathy, but it is still something to work on. Another way to counteract this problem is to, hopefully, structure better zoning laws, tax houses that have been deemed abandoned by owners and use that to create more affordable housing and even putting together all residents spare change to create capital to levy against developers or for a mortgage to create change within the community to encourage change outside of the community.