Bree Jones: How to revitalize a neighborhood -- without gentrification

How to revitalize a neighborhood -- without gentrification

The housing market can be vexing: while some neighborhoods get ridiculously expensive and price out longtime residents, others have historic homes sitting vacant without demand. Equitable housing developer and TED Fellow Bree Jones shares how she found a way to revitalize neighborhoods experiencing hyper-vacancy while preventing gentrification -- supporting home buyers and transforming communities along the way.

Entire blocks of historic homes in Baltimore’s Black Butterfly sit vacant and are valued so low that repairs exceed their market price. By activating the power of social networks and community ownership, a grassroots movement can restore these neighborhoods without pushing out longtime residents. Within two years, demand for renovated homes far surpassed supply, proving that traditional capital markets overlook real local appetite. This model challenges the flawed assumption that revitalization must mean gentrification.