Experts: Fort Worth Gentrification Could Be Addressed by Increasing Housing Options, Balancing Progress With Preservation
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The City of Fort Worth is the fastest-growing municipality in Texas and city leaders say they’re struggling with gentrification, displacement, and a lack of attainable, affordable housing.
Fort Worth influencers gathered Dec. 6 to discuss the topic as part of the Fort Worth Report’s “Candid Conversations” series.
Unfortunately, the conversation happened in the same week that the Dallas Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee was reviewing minimum lot size requirements and an injunction was filed to halt enforcement of Dallas short-term rentals. And it fell right smack in the middle of a discussion at the Dallas City Council about Community Bond Task Force recommendations on the 2024 bond program.
Fortunately, the Fort Worth gentrification discussion was hosted by our friends at The Fort Worth Report, so we’ve got you covered.
The Fort Worth Report’s “Candid Conversations” series featured local experts weighing in on “preserving neighborhood integrity while fostering economic growth and inclusivity” and balancing progress with preservation. Some of the panelists even used the dreaded “G word.”
High Density, More Housing Options
Gentrification has already become an issue in the predominantly working-class Hemphill neighborhood in Fort Worth’s Near Southside, officials said during the Dec. 6 panel discussion.
Mike Brennan, president of Near Southside Inc., talked about the importance of increasing residential density, making way for more housing.
“Absolutely that’s a good thing,” Brennan said. “In fact, that’s essential. I think we as a country are in a current housing crisis because we had a lull in housing development … We just haven’t built enough houses.”
Shawn Lassiter, executive director of BRAVE/R, said her organization is committed to creating greater housing density in the 76104 ZIP code, provided that resources like grocery stores and healthcare also are provided.
“It’s been very important to not show up to a community with the plan already created,” she said. “It’s important to come, blank slate, and say, ‘What is it that you need?’ and not to force a particular vision on people, because that is the battle of gentrification. That is the problem with what we’re doing in this city, and we don’t want to repeat things that other cities have screwed up. Fort Worth, we can be different.’
Lassiter acknowledged that Fort Worth has screwed up in the past, leading to longtime residents being pushed out of their homes by larger, more expensive developments in their neighborhoods.
“Our job and our goal, and my job while I’m here is to lead the effort [so] the community is heard because there’s a void there,” she said. “Gentrification is a void of culture.”
Greater Density Means More Housing Options
Stacy Marshall, president and CEO of Southeast Fort Worth Inc., said his organization is trying to bring density through workforce housing.
It’s a topic that’s been covered by Fort Worth’s metro to the east, where Dallas city officials have recently debated whether reducing minimum lot sizes for new development would create more density, and thus more housing options, or destroy the character of single-family neighborhoods as we know them.
“By bringing workforce housing into the area, we’re bringing in those higher incomes,” Marshall said. “One of the things, as an example, yesterday I did a tour with a developer and she said, ‘How many people live in this area?’ and so I had to explain to her that we’re still in the process of building up, and by building up that’s going to get us the grocery stores, that’s going to get us the clinics, that’s going to get us all the amenities, but we have to have a plan in place.”
The housing — the people — have to come first, Marshall added.
“We can’t expect the clinics to just pop up. We can’t expect the grocery stores to just pop up if we don’t have the people that are going to use them,” he said.
Former Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns explained that while he was serving as an elected official he was often “accosted” by residents who wanted to talk about a zoning ordinance or other city business while he was out eating at a restaurant.
“Those are the people who get results,” he said. “So stand up in front of your elected officials, go to city council meetings, and make sure the conversation includes you.”
