The chicken and egg issue of green gentrification

How do you add much-needed greenspace to neighbourhoods without driving up prices so much that the original residents are displaced? This is an ongoing issue in many cities and is currently being debated by academics, some of who are arguing for a ‘just green enough’ standard for urban greening that they argue will reduce exposure to environmental health risks but not make the spaces so desirable that it pushes gentrification. Other academics have argued that this further marginalizes the poor and disadvantaged, giving them once again second-hand goods that may or may not provide the same health and well-being benefits of better quality greenspace (see my upcoming book with Routledge on this matter, due out in 2018). For a real-world case study, see this recent article in USA Today on concerns with Chicago’s new 606 elevated rail line converted into a walking and biking trail.