INTEGRATION WITHOUT GENTRIFICATION

Abstract

Abstract Advocates for racial justice who are skeptical of racial integration frequently emphasize the disproportionate burdens that integration places on people of color, pointing, for example, to the fact that integration programs often focus on moving people of color into White communities, schools, and workplaces rather than the reverse. Despite renewed philosophical attention to the issue of racial integration, this concern about “one-way” integration has not been adequately addressed. This is surprising, since processes of gentrification have seen increasing numbers of White people moving into communities of color, reversing the mid-century trend of “White flight.” In this paper, I argue that, despite serious injustices associated with gentrification as it has unfolded, the trend holds some promise for a more equitable approach to integration, provided that it can be uncoupled from its role in initiating processes that lead to the displacement and exclusion of long-term residents. Resisting these effects, I argue, requires strong and effective democratic institutions at the city and neighborhood levels. With this in mind, I conclude with a brief review of some policy measures that might reinforce such institutions, focusing on community land trusts as a promising possibility for facilitating equitable racial integration.