Gentrification and Somali-Americans in Minneapolis Ward 6

Introduction

This capstone project examines Somali-American communities within the framework of economic displacement and gentrification in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area, with a particular focus on the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Cedar-Riverside has been referred to as "Little Mogadishu" due to its significant Somali presence in an otherwise largely white municipality. With more than 25,000 Somali residents, Cedar-Riverside is home to the largest population of Somali-American immigrants in the United States and the ninth-largest population of East African immigrants nationwide.

Not surprisingly, Cedar-Riverside is an extraordinary hub of Somali culture. Unfortunately, in recent years it has fallen victim to the same gentrification processes that have adversely affected and threatened the residential security of its preexisting low-income residents. This problem has been highlighted by the local mainstream media as well. According to Adam Belz, who covers Minneapolis City Hall for the Star Tribune, "Minneapolis and St. Paul have both gentrified considerably over the past 15 years, with rent outpacing income and more wealthy people attracted to the center of Minneapolis and nearby neighborhoods, and blocks along the Green Line in St. Paul."

These trends beg the question: "What happens to Somali-American families that decide to remain in gentrifying areas?" In sum, Somali-American families that decide to stay in gentrifying areas like Minneapolis Ward 6 may find themselves further economically and publicly marginalized, as discussed in the chapters that follow.

Literature Review: Gentrification Trends in the United States

The overarching goal of national economic development is the sustained improvement of the standard of living of citizens, together with opportunities for upward mobility and security from external threats — all with a focus on bettering the quality of life for all. According to the World Economic Forum, "The ultimate objective of national economic performance is broad-based and sustained progress in living standards, a concept that encompasses wage and non-wage income as well as economic opportunity, security and quality of life. This is the bottom-line basis on which a society evaluates the economic dimension of its country's leadership." It therefore seems reasonable to posit that the economic development of depressed neighborhoods is highly consistent with this worthwhile objective — a process that has been termed "gentrification." According to the legal definition provided by Black's Law Dictionary, gentrification is "a term used in land development to describe a trend whereby previously underdeveloped areas become revitalized as persons of relative affluence invest in homes and begin to upgrade the neighborhood economically."

Although this definition connotes a benign and even beneficent process whereby a rising tide raises all boats, the harsh reality of gentrification has been the displacement of millions of lower-income Americans who have few other housing options available to them. Moreover, gentrification is becoming virtually ubiquitous across the country, and a growing body of evidence indicates that lower-income residents are being specifically targeted by land developers intent on reaping the profits achievable through the revitalization of depressed neighborhoods. Although similar trends are taking place in other countries, gentrification has become especially pronounced in the United States over the past decade.

While some levels of gentrification have taken place for millennia, the term was only introduced during the latter half of the 20th century to refer to the use of urban renewal to revitalize economically depressed communities. Since the 1960s, gentrification has accelerated in cities such as Minneapolis–St. Paul, garnering increasing attention from critics who maintain that the process invariably places lower-income residents at a disadvantage — to the point of involuntary displacement — frequently with few viable low-cost housing alternatives available. Indeed, some gentrification opponents maintain that the term "gentrification" is simply a more refined and less threatening way of referring to "displacement."

This assertion is aligned with the more recent definition offered by Maly, who reports that "gentrification is a process by which the poor and working-class neighborhoods in the inner city are refurbished via an influx of private capital and middle-class home-buyers and renters — in neighborhoods that had previously experienced disinvestment and [an] exodus." Since the "exodus" from affected communities is typically comprised primarily of lower-income minority members and the "influx of private capital and middle-class home-buyers and renters" are generally white, the inexorable process of gentrification also involves fundamental changes in the sociodemographic makeup of targeted communities.

This is not to say that all low-income minorities have been disadvantaged by gentrification. In fact, there are cases in which the process has benefited minority residents of revitalized communities. A problem arises, however, when gentrification is used as a tool to specifically target minorities in an effort to displace them to other venues where they will be less visible and far less influential in the political sphere. Yet another problem arises when government officials are either complicit in or ignorant of the machinations of investors who seek to achieve these outcomes at the expense of lower-income minority members who lack the resources or expertise needed to challenge such decisions.

Clearly, there are subjective assessments involved in gentrification, and the points of view advanced depend on who benefits and who is harmed. For investors and those minority members who are sufficiently affluent to remain in gentrifying communities, the process can be inherently beneficial because it improves quality of life through the introduction of amenities that were previously unavailable, enhancing property values and attracting further investment. The vast majority of residents of gentrifying communities, however, are unable to afford the skyrocketing mortgages and rents that result, and the search is on for anywhere else that is affordable to live — even if it means relocating to communities where living conditions are even worse than what they had before.

Few right-thinking observers would argue that improving neighborhood quality is a bad thing, but many critics of gentrification argue that a "follow-the-money" analysis would likely show that many city officials are unjustly enriched by rampant gentrification in their districts. Some displaced minority members have suggested that the entire process smacks of "white privilege" and regard gentrification as a "slap in the face" by municipal policymakers. Even otherwise well-intentioned urban designers have been implicated in the gentrification debate, with some observers suggesting that the process ignores the long-term societal benefits of the rich cultural offerings of targeted communities in favor of more immediate returns on investment. As Dwyer emphasizes, "Many developers, eager for profit and armed with the real promise of upgrading the neighborhood, ignore the fact that those displaced people and old buildings once constituted a community that, though poor and in decline, had cultural and spiritual value."

Against this backdrop, it is little wonder that many minority residents of gentrifying neighborhoods complain that the collusive process has been used as a means to intentionally displace them from whatever lower-cost housing was available to them in favor of more affluent — typically white — residents. This dynamic is especially relevant to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul neighborhoods currently home to tens of thousands of Somali immigrants, as discussed further below.

Gentrification in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul Neighborhoods

As noted above, Minneapolis is currently home to more than 25,000 Somali immigrants, representing the largest concentration of Somalis in the nation and the largest outside of Africa. The story of how so many immigrants from a nation with a consistently hot and humid climate came to settle in a state with such dramatically different weather is curious, but the people of Minnesota — and Minneapolis–St. Paul in particular — have a long tradition of openly and warmly welcoming newcomers regardless of their countries of origin. The net outcome of this welcoming attitude has been a steady influx of refugees fleeing the political and military turmoil that has wracked Somalia for decades. As a result, Minneapolis's Ward 6 district has become characterized by a vibrant Somali community.

This exodus from Somalia to Minneapolis began in the early 1990s when the U.S. government agreed to accept refugees from Somalia following the collapse of the country's government during a bloody civil war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of civilians and displaced millions. Over the past 25 years or so, the tens of thousands of Somalis who settled in Minneapolis have educated and trained themselves, secured meaningful employment, and many have established small but thriving businesses. The population has been generally well received by the larger mainstream Minneapolis community. Although other parts of the state — including Mankato and Saint Cloud — also have pockets of Somali immigrants, the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, located between the university's main campus, the Mississippi River, and downtown Minneapolis, has been the destination of the vast majority of them.

The assimilation of so many Somali immigrants from a nation with starkly different weather, language, religious, and social customs has not been without its challenges, but these types of acculturation processes are characteristic of all newly arrived immigrants. What is especially noteworthy about the Somali population in Minneapolis is just how well these individuals have succeeded in overcoming the many challenges arrayed against them to become hard-working, contributing, and motivated members of Minnesota society. There are still some problems facing the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, however, including a crime rate slightly higher than the city average and an unemployment rate (approximately 13%) roughly twice as high as the city as a whole.

Compounding these challenges is the perception of Somali immigrants as a terrorist threat. This perception was heightened by a 2016 incident at a St. Cloud mall when Dahir Adan, a Somali refugee living in Minneapolis, stabbed 10 people — apparently motivated by radical Islamic ideology, according to then-FBI Director James Comey. In addition, nine other Somali immigrants living in Minneapolis had already been charged in 2017 with conspiring to travel to Syria to train with an ISIS contingent. Six of the defendants pleaded guilty, and three others were convicted by a federal court. Since that time, the FBI has maintained a special task force investigating the Islamic community in Minneapolis–St. Paul, including residents of Cedar-Riverside. Other incidents further underscore the growing — and frequently unfounded — perception of Somali immigrants as potential threats. For example, three Somali women at a Walmart service station in Fargo, South Dakota, who were simply pumping gas were recently confronted by a middle-aged white American woman who screamed, "We're going to kill all of you."

Taken together, it is clear that the 25,000-plus Somali immigrants living in Minneapolis face profoundly severe challenges that are making it even more difficult for them to forge new lives. Unfortunately, these same individuals are also confronting the tide of gentrification rolling across the country, displacing millions of similarly situated lower-income residents — most of whom are minority members. These issues are especially pronounced in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. As Adam Belz of the Star Tribune noted, Minneapolis and St. Paul "have both gentrified considerably over the past 15 years, with rent outpacing income and more wealthy people attracted to the center of Minneapolis and nearby neighborhoods, and blocks along the Green Line in St. Paul."

These accelerated urban revitalization trends raise the central question of what happens to Somali-American families that decide to remain in gentrifying areas. Based on the research to date, it is reasonable to posit that Somali-American families that remain in areas like Minneapolis's Ward 6 may find themselves economically and publicly marginalized.

These trends are especially troubling given the vibrant cultural life taking place within the roughly one-half square mile that comprises Little Mogadishu. Moreover, many of the younger Somalis in the neighborhood have lived there for all or most of their lives and have strong ties to the community. As one local resident put it: "We have so much history here. We were raised in this neighborhood." Similarly, Michael Tolan, an official with the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, suggests that Cedar-Riverside is a natural cultural enclave given its geographic organization. "Separated from the rest of Minneapolis by the Mississippi River and two freeways," Tolan notes, "the neighborhood operates like a self-sustaining village. That's allowed it to develop on its own and retain its character."

Today, the Cedar-Riverside area is home to approximately 8,000 residents, including a large Somali population. Even for those who do not live there, the place has become a symbol for the Minnesota Somali community — the nation's largest Somali diaspora. "It has become the place where people congregate," said Mohamud Noor, who lives next door to the iconic Riverside Plaza towers. "You get a sense of belonging. You don't feel as if you're an outsider. Everything that connects to the community happens here." These strong cultural ties have been further reinforced by community members coming together to create social centers specifically intended to promote camaraderie and inclusiveness among Cedar-Riverside's Somali residents.

Notwithstanding these strong cultural ties, the residents of Little Mogadishu are increasingly confronted with the same gentrification trends reshaping the American urban landscape, and many are left wondering what will become of them once their neighborhood becomes too expensive for them to remain in what some have always known as home.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The research showed that gentrification is defined in various ways, but all definitions include the fact that lower-income residents of affected communities are displaced by more affluent members of the community, typically without regard to where those who are displaced are supposed to live in the event they are unable to afford the higher rents and mortgages that inevitably accompany the revitalization process. Although additional research — especially longitudinal studies — is needed to determine with precision what happens to displaced residents, what is known today is that far too many low-income minority residents are left with few viable housing alternatives. In sum, although Minnesota may be welcoming for most citizens, it is becoming an increasingly unwelcoming place for marginalized residents such as the Somali residents of Little Mogadishu.

The capstone project's guiding research question was, "What happens to Somali-American families that decide to remain in gentrifying areas?" The findings that emerged from the literature review and surveys of local Somali residents in Cedar-Riverside were consistent in showing that the likely outcome of unchecked gentrification will be the displacement of increasing numbers of these immigrants, who will soon be unable to afford the higher rents and mortgages that go hand-in-hand with neighborhood revitalization. The survey results in particular showed that most respondents felt that although gentrification can have a positive effect on communities, the process should be better managed to avoid the intentional targeting of minority groups in ways that are inconsistent with the city's comprehensive urban development goals.

Based on the foregoing findings and conclusions, the following urban planning recommendations are offered:

First, include appointed representatives from Cedar-Riverside and other communities affected by gentrification on city zoning boards.

Second, ensure compliance with the city's comprehensive zoning plan concerning the need to revitalize cultural areas according to both the spirit of the document and its strict interpretation.

Third, conduct public hearings concerning any revitalization plan targeting impoverished regions of the city to ensure that low-income minority residents are afforded the opportunity to present their views and opinions about the process.