Looking Back and Moving Forward

When redlining stopped many families from buying homes in the past, it created money problems that continue today. Those families couldn't build wealth through homeownership like others did. That missing wealth still affects their children and grandchildren.

Gentrification might look different - there's no government official drawing red lines on maps - but it pushes people out in similar ways. As neighborhoods change, longtime residents often can't stay.

These changes are about more than just buildings. They affect who feels at home in a neighborhood, whose local shops survive, and which cultural traditions continue. When longtime residents move out, they take their community connections and history with them.

Communities across Boston aren't just accepting these changes. Many groups are working on solutions to keep neighborhoods affordable and protect longtime residents.

Here are some ways people are working to make housing more fair:

• Community land trusts: Groups of neighbors buy land together and keep it affordable forever. The trust owns the land, while families own or rent the homes on top of it at prices they can afford.
• Rent control: Laws that limit how much landlords can raise rent each year. Many cities had these rules in the past, and some places are trying to bring them back to protect renters.
• Affordable housing programs: Cities can require builders to include some lower-cost apartments in new buildings. They can also use city money to build housing that working families can afford.
• Fixing past wrongs: Some cities are looking at programs to help families that were hurt by redlining. This might include help with down payments for first-time home buyers in areas that were once redlined.
• Supporting local businesses: Programs to help small, local shops stay open when big chains move in and rents go up.

The ways neighborhoods change may look different than they did 70 years ago, but many of the results are the same. Certain groups of people still get pushed out, while others benefit.

The big question facing Boston and cities across America is how to grow and improve without pushing out longtime residents. How do we make sure that new coffee shops, parks, and safer streets benefit everyone - not just newcomers with more money?

Creating truly fair cities means looking honestly at our past, recognizing how it still shapes today, and working together on real solutions. It means asking who benefits from change, and making sure the answer includes everyone.