[VIDEO] Three of the four Evanston mayoral candidates told voters at a forum Thursday night that they don’t see gentrification as a problem in Evanston these days.
But one suggested that tax increases are making the town unaffordable for all its residents.
Preventing gentrification — the replacement of residents of one income level with those who make more money — has been used in recent years as an argument in at least three controversies in Evanston:
- By opponents of proposals for developing mostly vacant industrial land on the city’s west side
- By proponents of restrictions on teardowns, primarily in north Evanston, and
- By opponents of downtown redevelopment.
The forum, sponsored by the Central Street Neighbors Association, was held at Haven Middle School.