Redevelopment & Demographic Change: Fulton Market Case Study

Introduction

Author: Nicholas Tunks

Department: UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement (IPCE)

Advisor: Dr. Joseph K. Hoereth, UIC- IPCE
Dr. Matthew Wilson, Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois Chicago

Abstract: The redevelopment of neighbourhoods such as Fulton Market has shifted economic and cultural identities, gentrifying and pricing out previous residents while transforming the established culture and character. Researchers have discussed the economic impact on gentrified minority communities, citing redevelopment plans that focus on market-rate housing and capital accumulation. Minimal research has been found analyzing this redevelopment on a case-by-case basis, detailing how these policies change districts holistically. Using data from the US Census, Social Explorer, as well as several scholarly papers, a spatial analysis is conducted on the racial, employment, and land value of the Fulton Market Innovation District (FMID) from before the plan’s beginning 2014 to 2023, and a discussion and review of literature that studies similar cases to compile a full understanding of the effects of the development and gentrification in several Chicago neighborhoods, each with a majority Hispanic diaspora. The gentrification of these communities forces them out gradually, consequently reducing their activity in their local informal economy. Findings highlight significant impacts on the political economy of these minority enclaves, describing a similar issue that can happen from redevelopment. From the study, we see similarities between the FMID and other urban redevelopment projects: no affordable housing plans or other community-benefit agreements existed or were fully implemented. This details a continuing trend of communities being bought out and redeveloped without protection for residents, and of these low-income people being artificially expelled through economic and political power. The mandate and codification of community-benefit agreements (CBAs) as a component of any redevelopment project increases communities' ability to hold redevelopment plans accountable and protect the original residents of a neighborhood. CBAs are a collective agreement and contract created between the prospective developer and involved members of the afflicted community. As a political asset for ensuring affordable housing, the document ideally keeps rent stable for locals while increasing the total population, in tandem with the redevelopment of the neighborhood.

Keywords: Gentrification, Urban Redevelopment, Review, Community-Benefit Agreements, Spatial Analysis