SBAN Director Talks Legacy Business Programs in NextCity
SBAN Director Dr. Willow Lung-Amam spoke to NextCity about why more cities are enacting legacy business protections. Atlanta is the latest big city to create a legacy business program amidst “a wave of speculative investment capital that’s wreaking havoc in the city’s real estate market, not just in housing but also in commercial real estate,” NextCity reports.
“I’ve just seen a huge takeoff in the last several years of a lot of cities catching up and starting new initiatives in this area,” says Lung-Amam. “[What the pandemic] continues to show us in real-time is the vital role of small businesses in communities, and that they are an essential asset and something that is worth investing in and keeping.”
“If you lose residents, you’re going to lose small businesses. If you lose small businesses, you’re going to lose residents. If you lose the nonprofits and the vital anchor institutions in your neighborhood, you’re going to lose all those things, too.”
The article also highlights a new report from SBAN member the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative about how Black businesses are assets for neighborhood well-being and should be shielded from displacement.
