Gentrification has been a running theme in the social and economic fluctuations that occur in cities. Between housing booms and busts, the revitalization of small manufacturing and the shifting populations cities grow and change organically, subject to a variety of trends. In an article in Business Insider, Tali Arbel traces urban revival by following the successes of craft breweries that have sprung up in desolate and blighted neighborhoods. Brewers have found a home in cities full of abandoned warehouses and factory buildings where real estate is available and affordable. As these neighborhoods become more affluent, rising in trendiness and popularity, they are beginning to price out these same businesses that helped establish them. Where are these businesses to go and how can gentrifying neighborhoods protect social and economic diversity?
Read on for more.
The arrival of these craft breweries was one of the sparks that revived neighborhoods in Cleveland in the late 1980s and neighborhoods like Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the 1990s. "New businesses bubbled up around breweries, drawing young people and creating a vibrant community where families could plant roots and small businesses could thrive," writes Arbel. The irony is that today the trends of gentrification are putting pressure on these breweries to pack up and move to the next affordable location as real estate prices skyrocket, especially in New York City. Steve Hindy, co-founder and president of Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg tells Arbel, "We sowed the seeds of our own demise."
Read more at Business Insider by Tali Arbel