Human Impact
Community Impact Spotlight: The Human Cost of Urban Revitalization
Green Gentrification: A City on the Rise
“What is an up and coming neighborhood and where is it coming from?”
According to the Barcelona Laboratory for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability, “green gentrification refers to processes started by the implementation of an environmental planning agenda related to green spaces that lead to the exclusion and displacement of politically disenfranchised residents.” The term green gentrification highlights the fact that social justice and environmental justice are inherently intertwined; you can’t have one without the other.
When discussing and researching gentrification, it is important to be cognizant of the fact that the people who engage in gentrifying practices rarely identify their work as “gentrification.” The term has developed a stigma within our society because of its associations with eviction, dispossession, and displacement . The terms most commonly used by the people who engage in gentrification are “urban revitalization” and “economic redevelopment.” The implementation of these alternative terms is a clever marketing spin: It is easier to sell a project that promises to “revitalize” or “develop” an area than it is to sell a project that promises to displace current residents.
Furthermore, it is important to recognize that not all urban revitalization or economic redevelopment projects are inherently immoral. These projects can benefit society as a whole by increasing property values, introducing new business opportunities, and stimulating local economies. However, there is a way to approach these projects while still being cognizant of the needs and wants of the individuals who are being displaced. Considering that in America these projects are funded by city governments run by officials who are elected by the people for the people, it is important to carefully examine the extent to which these projects are truly in the interests of residents. This question is at the center of the intersection of green gentrification and the communities surrounding the Chem-Dyne superfund site.
In Hamilton, Ohio, economic development has been a priority for decades as local officials attempt to navigate the pivot from a crumbling industrial center to a “city on the rise.” The downtown Hamilton webpage tells the story of a “rust belt revival:”
“A roll of the sleeve and dogged determination have brought us to this moment. Reinvention isn’t a simple feat, but thanks to the vibrant emerging arts scene, the unwavering commitment of community members, and just a touch of Midwest magic, our industrial-aged river town has embarked on a remarkable rebound.”
This “remarkable rebound” is the result of several initiatives. In 2019, Hamilton adopted Plan Hamilton, described as “a comprehensive plan to guide the development of the city for the next fifteen years.” Plan Hamilton has identified eight main policy priorities based on community input: Residents, Housing, and Neighborhoods; Cooperation and Collaboration; Music, Arts, and Culture; Utilities; Parks, Recreation, and Open Space; Economic Development; Land and Development; and Mobility. Overwhelmingly, Hamilton residents ranked economic development as a top priority, along with revitalization efforts. In response, Hamilton has implemented a series of economic policy changes with two primary goals: “attract and retain businesses that enhance quality of life” and “revitalize and reimagine business corridors in Hamilton.”
The Past: Where Economic “Corridors” Lead
“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot/ With a pink hotel, a boutique/ And a swinging hot spot.”
One example of a project to revitalize a business corridor in Hamilton is the Hamilton River Plan. The purpose of this plan is to redevelop the land around the Great Miami River in order to expand economic opportunities in Hamilton. This is directly related to the Chem-Dyne Superfund Site because the land that is a part of this “business corridor” is only 2000 feet from where the Chem-Dyne Corporation used to stand. Furthermore, the Great Miami River was heavily polluted by Chem-Dyne, resulting in the death of over one million fish and wildlife (see “Community Impact Spotlight: Animals‒Counting Calories” for more information on this topic).
The first stage of the Hamilton River Plan was development of the Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill, North America’s largest indoor sports complex. The 1.2 million square-foot facility includes a convention center, hotel, and even a brewery. Recently, Spooky Nook has been in the news because of a “complex litigation” lawsuit between “Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill and its owner, a subcontractor, and multiple insurance companies.” The lawsuit stems from the catastrophic failure of the steel structure meant to support the sports complex in 2021.
The City of Hamilton bought properties surrounding the Chem-Dyne site at a leisurely pace before the land was designated to become a parking lot for the Spooky Nook project. This is concerning because the neighborhood is located west of the Chem-Dyne site, which is the direction that the polluted groundwater flows from the site (despite this fact, page 20 of the linked document from 2015 states that the neighborhood in question is not in danger; however, this does not address the decades that the EPA was involved in mitigation efforts at the site). Furthermore, the majority of the residents in the neighborhood were tenants, meaning that they were evicted from their homes with no compensation or assistance when the properties were sold to the city. In this scenario, it seems clear that the city prioritized economic development over the well-being of the citizens who lived in this particular neighborhood.
The Present: The “Lucky” Ones
“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me.”
– Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
Of the 44 houses that once existed in the neighborhood, only four remain standing. The families who live in these four houses are the “lucky ones” because they own their houses and thus have more control over what happens compared with their former neighbors who were all tenants. But being “lucky” is relative. The sidewalks and streets that connect these houses to the rest of the community are crumbling because the city of Hamilton is not properly maintaining the infrastructure that serves these residences.
Some similarities emerged in brief interviews with the remaining residents. Although each resident had a different story regarding what was happening to their neighborhood, none were consistent with the information that the Director of the Planning Commission provided. Each resident had lived in their house for decades, meaning they were likely exposed to the toxic, carcinogenic and teratogenic groundwater plume from the Chem-Dyne site. Each resident lived with multiple family members, representing various combinations of spouses, children, and grandchildren. Each resident expressed sadness about the prospect of moving from their homes but said that they were ready to move on because there was not much left for them anymore. All were waiting for the City of Hamilton to offer them enough money to be able to relocate. According to the Director of the Planning Commission, this will not happen anytime soon because the plans to build a parking lot have been postponed due to bond issues. She anticipates that the future of the neighborhood will be determined in the next five years.
The Future: Investing in Redevelopment Over People
“Where the eyes, the eyes with the will to see/ Where the hearts, that run over with mercy/ Where's the love that has not forsaken me/ Where's the work that set my hands, my soul free/ Where's the spirit that'll reign, reign over me/ Where's the promise, from sea to shining sea… We take care of our own/ Wherever this flag's flown”
Even though the future of the neighborhood remains uncertain, it is not hard to imagine that this former neighborhood will ultimately be transformed into another “economic opportunity” for Hamilton. Spurred by the success of the Spooky Nook project, another redevelopment project is planned right next to the neighborhood. Headed by Crawford Hoying, a Dublin, Ohio based company with the motto “we’re shaping the future with communities built to put people first,” construction on the $150 million project is scheduled to start in 2025. The plan is to build luxury apartments, townhomes, a hotel, and retail space. Thus, once Crawford Hoying’s development project is completed, there will be two hotels (including the existing Spooky Nook complex hotel) located less than a mile from each other. That’s a one-minute drive according to Google Maps.
The Crawford Hoying redevelopment site is situated on a 40-acre property, most of which was originally occupied by the old Cohen Recycling Plant which the City of Hamilton bought in 2022. A 6.6 acre parcel of the land including the four remaining homes has been designated as part of this redevelopment plan on maps provided by the city. The Director of the Planning Commission would not confirm that this is what the future holds for the neighborhood but this outcome would be consistent with the local government’s position on redevelopment. In the Hamiltonian Magazine “Plan Hamilton Update 2024” edition, Ben Jones of the Butler Metropolitan Housing Authority perfectly encapsulates the trickle-down economic view that the government has of these redevelopment projects:
“There has been a lot of development of apartments, especially here in the downtown core… And that’s always good. That drives economic development and that brings jobs for people of all socioeconomic categories. It helps pull everybody up.”
At this point, the remaining residents view selling their houses to the city for this redevelopment project as their best option. But that doesn’t change the fact that the city effectively displaced an entire neighborhood without providing any affordable housing options when they had the means to at the height of the affordable housing crisis in America. Instead of building low-income housing to replace the neighborhoods that have been bulldozed, Hamilton has chosen to build luxury apartments, luxury stores, and luxury hotels. Inherent in this choice is a statement about how the city views their less affluent residents: like the industrial pollution at the Chem-Dyne site, the city views the poor residents as an obstacle that must disappear in order to clean up the city.
Hamilton has invested in affordable housing as recently as 2020 (see attached Word Doc). The one-year goal for the number of households to be supported by the city is 27, including 19 non-homeless, 8 homeless, and 0 special-needs households. This number is quite insignificant given that Hamilton is poised to implement nearly one billion dollars in redevelopment projects. The city of Hamilton also has plans to support 1 household via the production of new units, 1 household via the acquisition of existing units, and 50 households via rehab of existing units. While this might seem like a good thing on the surface, the focus on rehabbing existing units is not the best option to help the residents living in these homes. Considering that the property tax of a given property in Butler County is 35% of the property’s fair market value, these rehab projects will increase property taxes, thus making it more difficult for lower income families to live in Hamilton. Rather than focusing on viable options for economically disadvantaged residents, the city of Hamilton is instead prioritizing solutions that improve the aesthetic appeal of their city with little regard to how these changes will affect these residents.
In a 2021 draft assessment of fair housing in Hamilton, Ohio, an anonymous community member offered a personal narrative on her struggle with securing housing in Hamilton, illustrating the stark reality many people face:
“When I walk the streets of Hamilton, I noticed that investors are buying these properties, like BB rents, and they're flipping and doing the same cookie cutter things to them. And then they're renting them out for sky high market rent. And now market rent is through the roof .. it’s ridiculous. And it's like I feel more stuck like I cannot afford this rent. Okay, well, let me try to buy okay, I cannot buy it's like, it's, it's like a is it? Demobilizing? You know, and I'm not the only one. That's why I say I'm the poster child for for housing in Hamilton because it's Zilch, you know, it's not available to us.”
“Because there is a stigma with people on section eight, they don't want you in their properties they think you're gonna tear them up. I started taking pictures of the inside and outside of my home, so they can see how I live not like a video record, but just you know, casual pictures. You know, this is how I live. I'm not nasty. I'm not dirty. I will take care of your property.”
“And I'm trying to be involved in whatever I can to improve this situation because we are getting left behind on this housing thing. I'm saying and I know they want this Riverfront. I know they want to do something with the Second Ward so that they can revitalize this neighborhood and it's just; something has to be done. And we have to get parts of it, but you know, cuz we're here. If you don't own any property down here, you might as well get ready to go.”
Maps and Figures
Figure 1. Map of the Riverfront Redevelopment as provided by the City of Hamilton to Local 12 News (the area marked as the 6.6 acre lot in blue is the neighborhood discussed above).
Figure 2. The map of the Riverfront Redevelopment overlaid with the EPA interactive map of the Chem-Dyne Superfund site (the orange blobby line is the boundary of groundwater plume at its height)
Figure 3. The most recent Google Maps aerial shot of the neighborhood. Many houses were bought and torn down by Hamilton before this photo was taken; all that remains of these buildings are vacant fields in between scattered homes. Since this photo was taken, multiple residences have been torn down. The residences that no longer exist have been marked with an “X.”
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