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I.Introduction
In the wake of recent social justice movements, local governments are starting to address historical inequities in their communities.1 Unfortunately, in addressing these inequities, local governments can trigger gentrification,2 resulting in further injustice in the form of displacement and, thus, creating the need for another equitymotivated response from the municipality. While some scholars suggest that municipalities should essentially limit the extent to which they rectify historical inequities,3 this paper argues that this cycle of (in)equity could be prevented, or at least mitigated, with antidisplacement land use strategies.
The unfortunate effects of municipal responses to the impacts of racist land use practices illustrate this (in)equity cycle. The disinvestment in lower-income neighborhoods caused by redlining, racial covenants, and zoning provisions discouraged property improvement, which resulted in dilapidated buildings, lowered real estate prices, fueling development of manufacturing and industrial uses, and a lowered cost of polluting infrastructure, such as highways and public works facilities. The legacy of these effects is the exposure of the residents of such neighborhoods to toxins and pollution not found in moderate- or higher-income residential neighborhoods.4 In fact, Black Americans are seventy-five percent more likely to live in communities where they are exposed to soil, air, and water pollution and experience a higher risk of cancer, asthma, and other lifethreatening illnesses.5 Many municipalities are interested in rectifying this inequity.6
One solution has been to build green infrastructure, such as parks, in these neighborhoods. It may seem as though the neighborhoods would benefit from this supposed step away from the historic inequity; however, once the green infrastructure is built, another equity issue can arise-gentrification and displacement. Those trees and parks can cause property values to rise, gentrifiers to move in, and low-income residents to be displaced.7 Displaced residents are more likely to experience negative mental health effects, food deserts, less walkable streets, less access to transportation, and more exposure to pollutants.8
The same cycle happens with countless other "solutions" to historic inequities. Reducing crime leads to higher property values.9 Giving school vouchers to kids living in neighborhoods zoned for underfunded schools may encourage moderate-income parents to become gentrifiers and move into low-income neighborhoods.10 Increasing transit options and transit-oriented development can drive up rents and property values, resulting in displacement.11 Even addressing food deserts and...