Upzonings in working class neighborhoods usually provoke political opposition based on concerns about gentrification and displacement. But the new Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District in Miami might have worked for a solution.
"Residents and property owners who banded together in the newly rechristened working-class neighborhood of Wynwood Norte have won Miami commissioners’ enthusiastic approval for an innovative plan that would tame looming gentrification by spurring development," reports Andre Viglucci.
"The Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District, a special zoning plan approved on first reading by a 5-0 vote on Thursday, arose from a grassroots effort to reverse the historic residential enclave’s declining fortunes," adds Viglucci.
The NRD-2, as the district is also called, was created by Miami city planners based on earlier work by Wynwood Community Enhancement Association, PlusUrbia Design, and others to create the Wynwood North Community Vision Plan. The Miami City Council recognized the vision plan in November 2019, passing a resolution instructing city staff to study implementation—enter the Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District.
The zoning changes included in the revitalization district "would allow Miami-Dade County’s housing agency, which owns several acres of underused land in the neighborhood, to expand its local stock of affordable and workforce housing," explains Viglucci.
To protect the community, "the plan aims to preserve the core and character of the neighborhood by placing stricter limits on demolitions and maintaining a low scale in residential areas," adds Viglucci.
More details on the community-led process that produced the vision plan and the revitalization district, the goals of the vision plan and revitalization district, as well as the history of planning and development in the area are included in the source article.
FULL STORY: To fight gentrification, a working-class Miami enclave wins plan to spur development
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