bon appétit, February 22, 2021, In Gentrifying Atlanta, Black-Owned Food Businesses Are Banding Together to Survive–and Thrive
Driving her minivan through Atlanta’s historic West End, Keitra Bates points out the signs of change. There are patterns, she tells me, when it comes to determining which houses are occupied by long-term Black residents and which ones belong to the mostly white newcomers. Patterns you might not notice if you don’t know what to look for.
Over the past decade, however, migration patterns have reversed and white folks have returned to the neighborhood in droves, buying up hundred-year-old Craftsman bungalows to flip or inhabit. Property values have doubled or even tripled, which is good for people trying to sell, but bad for renters who want to stay, thanks to the property taxes and rental prices that balloon as a result.
According to a 2019 report published by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Diego, and Chicago account for nearly half of the country’s gentrification. The patterns of West End mirror those of these other major cities, where shifting populations (namely, wealthy people moving into poorer urban areas) disproportionately displace Black and Latino residents.
