The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN) has released a new Small Business Anti-Displacement Toolkit to help advocates preserve small businesses in gentrifying neighborhoods.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 11, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN) has released a new Small Business Anti-Displacement Toolkit to help advocates preserve small businesses in gentrifying neighborhoods. The new edition draws on what SBAN has learned over the last three years from its network of more than 150 members about how municipalities and community-based organizations are supporting BIPOC- and immigrant-owned businesses, which are vulnerable to displacement when communities gentrify.

Across the country, small businesses are facing rising rents, increased competition and loss of longtime customers. With fewer resources than white-owned businesses, BIPOC- and immigrant-owned businesses often struggle to adjust to changing social and economic conditions. The political climate and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic further threaten their sustainability. However, communities are working to preserve small businesses as vital social, cultural and economic anchors.

"Small businesses are the lifeblood of many communities. But we saw during the pandemic how many are vulnerable to external shocks, including gentrification," said SBAN Director and University of Maryland Associate Professor Dr. Willow Lung-Amam. "We've visited our network members in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and other communities and seen how they're using strategies that prioritize equity, opportunity and the rights of small businesses to remain in place. There are really groundbreaking things happening right now."

First published in 2021, the Small Business Anti-Displacement Toolkit collects these efforts in one place, outlining seven strategies: commercial preservation and property improvement, local hiring and entrepreneurial support, tax credits and incentives, zoning and form-based codes, commercial tenant protections, community ownership and place-based management. It details nearly 30 tools for implementing these strategies and discusses how advocates can push policies to keep small businesses in place. The new edition includes updates on place-based management, tax credits, and community ownership tools, as well as new examples of anti-displacement efforts in neighborhoods across the country and abroad.

"To support the long-term success of small businesses, policymakers, community leaders, and other advocates should use strategies that prioritize inclusive economic development, promote equitable access to resources and capital, and expand community wealth-building and ownership opportunities," Lung-Amam said.

About SBAN: The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network is a network of organizations across the United States and internationally that work to prevent displacement of BIPOC- and immigrant-owned small businesses in gentrifying neighborhoods. Housed at the University of Maryland's National Center for Smart Growth, SBAN includes policymakers, nonprofit advocates, technical assistance providers, real estate developers, financial institutions, scholars, and small business owners, who share knowledge and collaborate to advance innovative policies and practices that keep small businesses in place.

Media Contact

Katy June-Friesen, University of Maryland / Small Business Anti-Displacement Network, 202-904-6694, sban@umd.edu, http://antidisplacement.org

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SOURCE University of Maryland / Small Business Anti-Displacement Network