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Are there any startups directly tackling the problem of 'gentrification' with solutions in a non-profit or for-profit model?
Hello and thank you for your question on startups working to tackle gentrification with either for-profit or non-profit models. In short, I found examples of localized businesses which are created to address gentrification, such as co-working spaces and community land trusts, but only one start up dedicated to fighting gentrification with a non-profit and shared spaced model.
My deep dive is below.
METHODOLOGY
I did some background research on gentrification, finding many articles on community groups who have organized in several cities to protest developments in their local areas. To fully answer your question I researched business and organization articles and listings, secretary of state filings, and articles for startups.
After these extensive searches and consultation with colleagues, I have determined that plentiful information pertaining to startups specifically opposing gentrification is not publicly available. I have provided information on one NPO that was publicly available.
FINDINGS
The community groups were searched for business licenses and non-profit status. Most of these organizations are not businesses. For example, the Brass Liberation Organization is a member band organization which plays at anti-gentrification effort events in the Oakland and Bay area of California. I searched the list of organizations they support, all are "member based organizations."
Many of the solutions posed to address gentrification include creating community land trusts and stricter city land use , tenancy, and zoning regulations. These are governmental regulation driven, and there aren't private or non-profit business startups to address these approaches.
The purchase or donation of land, and creation of a community land trust, will form a non-profit corporation for holding the land in trust, but is not a stand alone business entity to address gentrification. " A community land trust (CLT) for affordable housing is a non-profit entity that owns land that it stewards to ensure the long-term affordability of the properties on the land."
Several of the proposed approaches, such as co-working spaces and makerspaces to keep jobs and commercial spaces affordable for local businesses, have created individual localized businesses. I have included information on one in Seattle and another from Oakland.
Many existing non-profits, often dedicated to urban agriculture, protecting tenancy and preserving affordable housing, can be found already addressing individual problems of gentrification. These approaches and solutions are based on the specific purpose of the NPO, and are accomplished primarily through fundraising and policy advocacy work.
This organization seeks to create 100 urban micro-farms in Oakland. The purpose of the start up is to specifically address gentrification in Oakland. "By merging the urban agriculture movement with the tiny home movement we can allow farmers to continue to develop their skills as urban farmers, rather than being pushed from the city due to housing costs."
Rather than a profit or non-profit model, it raised initial startup money on Indigogo to start developing stand alone microfarms, "working with land trusts, gardeners, farmers, non-profits dedicated to urban agriculture, and other allies in the environmental and social justice movements to create long-term community-based ownership models to ensure that these farms stay farms for generations to come."
The company is registered as a non-profit corporation in California, with a first registration date in 2011.
POSSIBLE FUTURE RESEARCH
It is possible to look at individual city areas for locally and purposely created businesses resulting from anti-gentrification efforts. Additionally, Public-Private Partnerships in an individual sector of the problem, for example keeping local employment or affordable housing, may be a study that can create business ideas for a new startup by addressing what is being done successfully and perhaps existing or newly changing regulations affecting operations.
CONCLUSION
Many existing NPOs are addressing specific pieces of the gentrification problem, and many locally created individual businesses and non-profits, such as land trusts, result from anti-gentrification efforts but I found only one startup dedicated to tackling gentrification as its purpose. Thank you so much for using Wonder! Please let us know how we can assist you in the future!