Ethical Issues Regarding Gentrification and Displacement Carys Davies
A close look at most American cities over the past two decades quickly reveals rapid development and change within neighborhoods which have frequently been ignored and under resourced. Residents of cities such as Cleveland, New York, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, DC have been subject to the ups and downs of the processes of urban renewal, revitalization, and gentrification. It is simple and most comfortable for the vast majority of the politically empowered upper class population to see gentrification as simply a catalyst for essential community improvement. What is frequently ignored are the severe consequences for the community members, particularly long time residents
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... There is of course no ethical code geared directly at gentrification. However the ethics regarding the actions frequently taken during gentrification can be evaluated by asking the following questions...: Is the policy equitable? Is there public participation? Is there predictability? Is there an opportunity for Procedural Due Process? And most importantly do policies involved with gentrification maximize societal benefits? .... As stated in their code of ethics the APA [American Planning Association] aspires to be responsible and worthy of the trust of the public, clients, employers, profession, and colleagues.... [A]s we move on and consider the negative effects of gentrification it will rapidly become apparent that there are multiple violations of the APA’s code which lead directly into ethical dilemmas which are currently not being addressed.... The true issue at hand is that the process of gentrification does not maximize societal benefits equitably. ...In order to ethically care for current and future communities communication must occur. Overarching parties such as APA... must bridge gaps and communicate regarding policies, procedures and the issues they can collaboratively address.