Why would anybody be afraid of a lifesaving institution such as a large hospital that shares their very own neighbourhood? One possible answer is tied to affordable housing.
In America, many large hospitals have been built close to downtown city cores. Over the past half century or more, prosperous citizens have migrated to the suburbs. Those suburbs closer to city centres and older hospitals have seen neighbourhood incomes plunge, along with the value of their older housing.
Intending to reverse the decline, the hospitals, sometimes on their own and sometimes in partnership, have launched redevelopment initiatives.
Marc Shi, author of the article linked below identifies a troubling pattern to this re-development. New research institutes, treatment centres, upscale retail space and new housing are proposed and are built in the neighbourhood. Local residents who had been living in the “shadow” of the hospital can no longer afford to live in the neighbourhood and have to find housing elsewhere. As these negative consequences unfold, word spreads. As a result, residents of other neighbourhoods around hospitals become understandably wary of their large, well financed neighbour, even when there are no official redevelopment proposals.
Shi argues that hospitals have considerable resources to support and build up the neighbourhoods that are languishing on their doorsteps. He sees a need for hospitals to fully acknowledge their power and wealth in the context of the local community. He calls on hospitals to recognize the strengths of the neighbourhoods and work with local residents to plan a future that includes them. Read more at Shelterforce: Health Care Institutions Must Acknowledge Their Role in Neighborhood Change
Shi has pulled together important ideas that could be applied to earlier posts about hospitals and other developers engaged in large scale redevelopments. Try: Private Hospitals Invest In The Health Benefits Of Housing and Urban Redevelopment: A Case Of Failing To See Who’s There
