In this bonus episode, Deqah unpacks equitable preservation-based development with Bree Jones, the Founder and CEO of Parity, an equitable development company headquartered in West Baltimore that acquires and rehabilitates abandoned properties by the block to create affordable home ownership opportunities. Bree started Parity in 2020 as a response to the gentrification and displacement she experienced in her hometown in NYC.
Here, Deqah and Bree discussthe various levels of economic disinvestment that create hyper-vacancy and decay. Instead of pushing people out of their legacy lands and neighborhoods, Bree and the folks at Parity have envisioned a new way to develop, one that disengages from traditional, top-down forms of planning to combat gentrification and other historical place-based inequities such as America’s legacy of urban renewal. Through this new approach, Bree has successfully generated over $60 million of investment in Black communities.
Bree Jones is the CEO & Founder of Parity, a culturalist and nationally recognized systems change leader focused on revaluing Black neighborhoods and engendering Black wealth. If you haven’t already, we recommend you watch her TED Talk, How to Revitalize a Neighborhood – Without Gentrification, that explicates this innovative vision.
This episode is sponsored by Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and Management. Loyola University Maryland is a Baltimore-based institution that believes in the power of community builders.
Credits:
Your host is Deqah Hussein-Wetzel. This episode was edited by Deqah, Connor Lynch, Skyler Ficklin, and Vanessa Quirk. Mixing by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy.
Urban Roots is a project by Urbanist Media, a non-profit dedicated to preserving place through story. Please consider supporting our work by donating to us via Venmo or Paypal.
Subscribe to our YouTube (and Patreon for exclusive content)!
Want to sponsor a bonus episode? Email us at: urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram at urbanrootsculture
