A Center for Community Development: Redesigning a Community Center That Focuses on Connecting, Uplifting, and Serving the Community

Abstract

Gentrification is described as the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. This renovation or development focuses on improving the buildings or structures so that it can draw in new, higher-paying tenants. While this development may seem necessary, the results produce drastic changes to neighborhoods in which they take place. The goal of this research is not to combat gentrification, it is to shift the development from the building to the individuals of a neighborhood. The strategies of this research aim to combat the negative effects of gentrification by fostering development and building connection with the members of a community.