Thriving in Place: Salt Lake City's Anti-Displacement Strategy
Salt Lake City has been experiencing unprecedented growth and rapidly escalating housing costs. As the city has worked to change zoning and take other actions to support new housing development, community concern has grown more vocal about the impacts on existing residents, especially those most vulnerable to displacement due to increasing rents.
Putting several significant policy initiatives on hold, the City Council and Mayor opted to take time to document and understand gentrification pressures in the city and the factors driving displacement. In 2021 they selected Community Planning Collaborative to lead a community-driven process to develop an anti-displacement strategy. We teamed with both the Urban Displacement Project (UDP) at the University of California, Berkeley and the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning on board with our team to respond to the challenge.
Phase 1 of the project focused on Listening and Learning. Through a robust project website, community survey, six community liaisons, and the intrepid work of dozens of students in two University of Utah courses, we reached thousands of Salt Lake residents and engaged them in critical conversations about their experiences of displacement and the future of their city. In conjunction with the path-breaking analysis of UDP, we released the Phase 1 report in July 2022.
In Phase 2, Crafting Collaborative Solutions, we worked with multiple city departments, key partners and the community to develop an anti-displacement strategy that would help lower income tenants stay in place, create more affordable housing, and ensure ongoing partnership and coordinated action with impacted communities and regional partners. The Draft Strategy was released in May 2023 and updated based on public input in July. At the same time, near-term action work by members of the city team helped to secure initial funding, craft language for a new Community Benefit Policy, and develop a new Tenant Relocation Assistance Program. On October 17th, Salt Lake City’s City Council passed Thriving in place unanimously.
“David is hands-down the best project manager I have worked with.
He successfully navigated sensitive political issues, group dynamics, with a willingness to course correct when needed, all while delivering an impactful plan. It has been a true pleasure to work with David over the past two years, not only building the foundation for impactful policy but also a lasting friendship. I think we have created a plan that will help break down the barriers we have in Salt Lake City.”