Because the rails to trails project left housing up to the market, rising rents were inevitable, claims a new report.

Logan Square rents and property values have been on the rise, particularly in the part of the neighborhood around the 606. Whether or not the trail and its planners deserved any of the blame for that has been a subject of debate in the area for some time. A new report argues that it was a cause of rising costs and its were to blame. “Lower-cost housing was bound to be pushed out of neighborhoods along the 606 trail by more expensive replacements because of the way the rails-to-trails project was planned, a pair of academics claim in a scholarly journal,” Dennis Rodkin reports in Crain’s Chicago Business.
University of Illinois Professor Alessandro Rigolon contends that the project’s builders were content to see it as a purely parks and infrastructure venture and to leave housing prices to ride the market. Rigolon and his co-author, Professor Jeremy Nemeth of the University of Colorado, even titled the piece after a quote from a representative for the Trust for Public Land that did much of the work on the project who said, “We're not in the business of housing.”
Critics of the report (from the Trust for Public Land and elsewhere) point out that the neighborhood was already gentrifying and that some of the rising land value came from the neighborhood recovering from the great recession. Useful context to be sure, but not enough to convince observers that the trail didn’t force out residents.
FULL STORY: Was gentrification around the 606 inevitable?

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

Washington State’s Parking Reform Law Could Unlock ‘Countless’ Acres for New Housing
A law that limits how much parking cities can require for residential amd commercial developments could lead to a construction boom.

Wildlife Rebounds After the Eaton Fire
Following the devastation of the Eaton Fire, the return of wildlife and the regrowth of native plants are offering powerful signs of resilience and renewal.

LA to Replace Inglewood Light Rail Project With Bus Shuttles
LA Metro says the change is in response to community engagement and that the new design will be ready before the 2028 Olympic Games.
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