End of Gentrification In Black Neighborhoods? “First of its kind” Ordinance In Louisville May Jump Start This Movement

Developing legislation in Louisville, Kentucky, could put an end to gentrification.

The Louisville Courier Journal reports the legislation, called the Historically Black Neighborhood Ordinance, may put a stop to developers coming into Black neighborhoods and kicking residents out. The law would create an assessment to determine whether developments proposed in certain communities would lead to resident displacement.

If the answer is yes, projects would be denied, with an overall goal of counteracting racist policies leading to Black neighborhoods being stripped of resources and high rates of poverty.

One neighborhood in question is Smoketown, which is one mile from downtown Louisville. Known as a historically Black neighborhood since the Civil War, former and current residents say they barely recognize it anymore with the rise of rent and home prices.

“It’s a back-and-forth cycle where people are trying to move back, but they can’t,” Louisville Tenant Union member, Jessica Bellamy, told the Courier Journal.

“After Smoketown lost hundreds of residents due to remodeling of Shepherd’s Square, both non-profit and for-profit organizations started inflating the cost of living in Smoketown.”

Bellamy is one of many in favor of the legislation. Sponsoring the ordinance is Metro Councilman Jecorey Arthur. Arthur has been working with locals for two years on this and is hoping to file any day now.

There is no rush in what he calls “first-of-its-kind in the country, we got to get it right. The people who have lived experiences are well aware of the issue. It seems straightforward and a no-brainer that council people would support something they already admitted to before I joined Metro Council,” Arthur told WAVE 3.

The lack of affordable housing options is a growing problem in Louisville and its surrounding neighborhoods. According to the U.S. Census, since 2021, the average household income increased 120%, jumping from $17,875 to $39,760, as more people with higher salaries have moved in.