Interactive: Photo gallery   Click the photo to view a photo gallery of several Bickerdike projects.

By Drew Moses
DePaul University (CMN 363)
Published March 8, 2006

CHICAGO -- For the last several years, Chicago neighborhoods have been undergoing a transformation. As suburban residents look for ways to get closer to the city without living in downtown high rises, developers are rushing to rebuild the surrounding areas in order to make them more appealing for the affluent newcomers who fled the city years ago. Gentrification is a growing epidemic in many neighborhoods and while it offers many chances for wealthy young families looking for that big city feel, it is also driving long time residents from their homes.

Many experts point to the positive effects of gentrification as reason to let it continue. Kenneth Fidel, an urban sociologist at DePaul University, maintains that gentrification will only serve to better communities by creating higher standards of living. "As for Humboldt Park and West Town, my understanding is that there is great concern that construction of more affordable housing in the area will increase already high rates of poverty income households," Fidel said.

Others, however, are convinced that uncontrolled gentrification will lead to the eradication of ethnic neighborhoods and long time residents who are being forced from their homes due to rising costs and loss of businesses.

The word gentrification carries a very negative connotation in the minds of many people. While it is possible to find some good effects that come from gentrification, it is impossible to get away from the harmful effects and, in most cases, the bad seems to outweigh the good. The image of the big, bad developer with deep pockets pushing grandma out of the home she’s lived in for more than 50 years to make way for a new high rise condominium building is the stereotype that gentrification brings with it, and for good reason.

Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation is working to change that image.

“Most people think of development as throwing out the old and building new, better things,” said Chrissie Richards, who has workded at Bickerdike for just over a year. “They don’t realize that the old is what makes the community what it is. We need to improve on what’s already there, not throw it out and start over.”

Gentrification, the displacement of lower-income, mostly minority residents of an established community by rising housing costs associated with higher-income, mostly White people moving into the community and redeveloping the area, has already transformed many neighborhoods in the Chicagoland area. The process now threatens areas like Humboldt Park, West Town and Logan Square, all of which have deeply rooted ethnic backgrounds whose impact has made these communities what they are today.

Established in 1967 by residents of Chicago’s near Northwest side, Bickerdike began as a resident-run organization dedicated to combating the deterioration of neighborhoods that resulted from people moving away from the city and into the suburbs. They have maintained their roots and continue to be a resident driven company today.

"When we were formed 38 years ago, the circumstances were so different," Richard said, pointing to the evolution that led to the gentrification these neighborhoods see today. "In those days, 'white flight' caused concern because we had to worry about deteriorating neighborhoods. Now, it's not people leaving, but people coming back that is causing many of the issues we deal with."

In recent years, low and middle income families have faced increased effects of gentrification as developers scramble to turn “run down” neighborhoods into high end, close to the city hot spots. This has resulted in skyrocketing housing prices, drastically increased rents, loss of local businesses and general displacement of longtime residents in areas like Humboldt Park and West Town.

The basic principle of the real estate market is to buy low and sell high, and developers often see potential in these “run-down” communities where prices are low and lots are vacant.
Bickerdike sees this potential just like any other developer. The difference comes in their vision and goal, which is not to exploit and make a profit off of these areas, but restore them and provide housing that members of the community can actually afford. Their motto, “Community inspired development,” sums up their objective for revitalizing and equipping areas otherwise unable to defend themselves against predatory developers.

Bickerdike’s mission is quite clear: to not only redevelop areas like Humboldt Park, but to do so in a manner that gives control back to the lower and middle income families that make up the bulk of the community.

“Most developers come in, tear down the old, build newer, more expensive housing, and then leave,” said Richards. “Bickerdike is different because we’re invested in the community. We don’t just redevelop areas; we try to make sure they flourish by empowering them socially and economically.”

Many facets exist for Bickerdike to carry out this mission. In 1981, Bickerdike created the Humboldt Construction Company (HCC) in order to maximize efficiency in the building process, ensure quality construction and provide jobs for community residents. HCC provides low-income employees the opportunity to grow in the trade and go on to higher wage positions outside of Bickerdike.

"When we began doing all this building," Richards said, "we saw how much work was being outsourced and we thought, 'couldn't we just create these jobs for local residents?' That's how we got the idea to create an in-house construction company."

In addition to managing affordable housing units, Bickerdike also maintains El Mercado, a fresh foods market designed with the needs of local residents in mind. El Mercado occupies an area where two supermarket chains have been unsuccessful in the past and works with local produce vendor Cermak Produce to provide quality food, as well as employment opportunities, 75 percent of which go to neighborhood residents.

Bickerdike is also involved in land banking, which involves slow acquiring pieces of vacant property and maintaining them for future affordable housing developments. This has become an important part of their work because it keeps outside developers with larger resources from coming in and buying up all the vacant lots. "It's critical to purchase these properties when their values are affordable because if a lot costs $250,000, there's no way you can build affordable housing on it," Richards said.

“It’s important to have the resources to provide lower-income families with affordable housing,” said Richards, “but it’s just as important to give residents of these communities the tools to effectively organize and stand up for themselves.”

Bickerdike realizes that just giving people a place to live isn’t enough. Without the knowledge and leadership to unite the community, areas like West Town and Humboldt Park will be continual targets for predatory developers. To combat this epidemic, Bickerdike provides training and development for community groups so that residents will be able to stand up for themselves and protect their communities long after Bickerdike is gone.

Ruben Feliciano works for the Near Northwest Neighborhood Network, which operates primarily in the area of Humboldt Park / West Town. The organization works with community leaders, developers and residents to slow the process of gentrification and control it in order to create a stable, mixed-income community. Feliciano said that Bickerdike does exactly what developers should do in areas like Humboldt Park.

“We’re not anti-development,” Feliciano said. “Everyone deserves housing. Everyone deserves the right to that type of human dignity.”

Bickerdike works with organizations like NNNN to provide affordable housing units to residents in danger of being displaced by expensive new developments. NNNN has a goal of creating 15 percent affordable housing in each new development and currently averages around 33 percent. Bickerdike is a major reason why these kinds of figures are possible. Ruben Feliciano said that were it not for developers like Bickerdike, many people would be forced out of neighborhoods they have inhabited for years.

“The actual number of people forced from this area is too big to even count,” Feliciano said. When asked to guess, he replied, “Lots. Thousands.”

With developers like Bickerdike, this is a trend Feliciano says is slowly being reversed.

“We’re making progress,” Feliciano said. “There’s still so much to be done, but we’re on the right track.”

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amoses@depaul.edu

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