Nashville has a great deal going for it, but rising housing costs and gentrification could take it down a darker path.
Nashville is growing quickly, but its bright future is being challenged by issues that have affected other cities, writes Khushbu Shah. The city is already a hub for the healthcare industry, Christian publishing, and country music. Adding to this are Amazon’s plans for a new operations center that will bring 5,000 new jobs and a flourishing tourism market.
The influx of visitors and new residents will be an economic boost for Nashville, but community activists are concerned about the displacement of residents as new buildings go up and housing prices increase. "[Anne] Barnett recently visited Amazon’s hometown, Seattle, where she says she saw an extreme housing and homeless crisis. With those issues already plaguing Nashville, she worries about how much worse it might get when Jeff Bezos’s tech behemoth arrives in the city," notes Shah.
The city defends the Amazon deal saying it can manage the new growth and development, and proponents say Nashville offers a wealth of opportunities, particularly in the music industry, that are not available in other cities. "A proportion of Nashville’s economic rising star can be attributed to the grassroots investment the city has made into its new and existing residents with incentives like the nonprofit Entrepreneur Center, which took shape in 2010," adds Shah.
FULL STORY: Bachelorettes, Bibles and Amazon: is Nashville the perfect model for a second-tier city?
Oakland residents fear AI-fueled gentrification
The new tech boom that's driving up rents in San Francisco could have rippling impacts on East Bay communities.
Spain Fines Airbnb $75 Million After Crackdown on Unlicensed Rentals
The government took action after residents in tourist centers protested, blaming tourist rentals for a growing housing crisis.
20 Years After Katrina, New Orleans is More Unaffordable Than Ever
The city’s post-hurricane redevelopment has failed to include its most vulnerable residents.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association