Gentrification is a problem for some Kansas City residents. Areas of the city have improved to a level that makes it difficult for people to remain in their businesses or homes.
Urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter believes this doesn't have to be the case. Borrowing an approach used by successful companies, she advocates for stopping brain drain, the exodus of talent from a community.
Carter may be her own best argument for this idea. A South Bronx native, she has created a consulting business there based on revitalizing urban areas. The business's multiple projects create and transform spaces to keep current residents in place and attract others to the neighborhood.
"Essentially, you recruit talent and you keep them close," Carter said. When communities do this, she pointed out, "we can literally rebuild them up from the inside out in ways that are actually supportive of your future growth and development."
- Majora Carter, founder of Majora Carter Group, author of "Reclaiming Your Community: You Don't Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One"
