In the 21st century, a new set of dynamics in the increasingly urbanized Durham landscape present new challenges for food justice. What is often described as ‘gentrification’ is the latest in the legacy of involuntary displacement of people of color in Durham dating back to the Eno and Occoneechi. Indeed, the colonial worldview and the “frontier” mythology pervade how gentrification is talked about in many spaces. Words and phrases such as “urban pioneers” and “trailblazers” to describe the predominantly white and wealthier newcomers in historically disinvested areas described as “burgeoning,” “up and coming,” or even the “wild wild west.” This language pervades the popular press, real estate advertisements, and colloquial conversations, particularly among those with race and class privilege.314-315
The foundation of gentrification today was built through decades of chronic racialized disinvestment in the central city. These practices ultimately devalued real estate to such an extent that it became profitable for investors to come in and start making money. In the early 90s, the public sector laid the groundwork for a more favorable investment climate through a string of incentives for development projects downtown. This included the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (1995), the renovations of American Tobacco (Phase I, 2005) and West Village, Durham Central Park and the Farmers Market Pavilion (2007), the Durham Performing Arts Center (2008), and extensive streetscape and infrastructure improvements. The quickly expanding cluster of jobs and amenities resulted in a new premium for real estate in proximity to downtown. During this time, the downtown economy was undergoing dramatic changes. Instead of being comprised of factory workers, government employees, and non-profit workers, the new economy workforce is largely split between low-pay service jobs and high-paying ones in sectors such as research and technology. Unlike a generation earlier, where the middle-class fled the central city for the suburbs, high-wage earners today favor the walkability, amenities, historic character, and “diversity” of urban living and working environments.316-317
Further contributing to gentrification is the rapid population growth of the Triangle region which is expected to add over a million people from 2010 - 2040. This growth is putting a strain on the housing supply and attracting an influx of investment capital. Locally, this investment shows up as house flipping, a proliferation of Air B&Bs, and signs on central city neighborhood corners offering to ‘buy ugly houses.’ In the bigger picture, global hedge funds and investment companies have found they can get a better return on their investment in local real estate than in the stock market, and there has been a sharp increase in the amount of out of town ownership in Durham. While neighborhoods often see positive changes like reduction in crime, new public and private amenities, and fixed up houses and commercial buildings, the benefits do not accrue equitably across race and class. Rather than a tide that lifts all boats, gentrification is a process with winners and losers. Those that cannot afford the expensive new housing prices in Durham are displaced through rent increases, evictions, and foreclosures. During the Great Recession foreclosures spiked and were disproportionately located in historically Black neighborhoods, which were targeted for high-cost subprime loans by lenders in a practice known as “reverse Redlining.” Durham County had more than 10,000 eviction filings in 2016 and 2017, the highest rate of any large county in the state, and the average rent in Durham increased more than 35% between 2011and 2017. To put this into perspective, Durham was number 12 in the entire country for cities where housing prices are increasing the most.318-323
Over the past 40 years, many social services involved with emergency food and shelter programs located in central Durham to be accessible to high-poverty neighborhoods located nearby. These include organizations such Urban Ministries, Durham County Social Services and Public Health Departments, the Durham Housing Authority offices, and amenities such as the downtown library and the transportation hub. As these neighborhoods gentrify and long-time residents get displaced, there is an increasing spatial disconnect between the location of the services and amenities and those who utilize and need them the most.es-are-rising-the-fastest-slowest/