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The Impact of Urban Revitalization on Small Businesses in Third Ward Study
Findings from research focus groups conducted in May 2022 show that business owners in Houston’s Third Ward feel excluded from economic development processes happening in their community. Plans to revitalize the neighborhood are ongoing, but current business owners agree that the revitalization process has done little to benefit existing businesses.
What Third Ward Business Owners are Seeing
- Increases in residential and commercial rent.
- A loss of their usual customers.
- The displacement of community businesses, including mom-and-pop shops.
- A loss of trust in city leadership.
- New business owners and customers who change the community’s makeup.
What Third Ward Business Owners Want to See
- A Third Ward chamber of commerce that advocates for local businesses and promotes a unified business community.
- Partnerships with financial institutions that have the business community’s best interests in mind and promote genuine and sustainable financing resources for local business owners.
- Stronger partnerships between businesses and investors who can bring money into the community.
- Preservation of the community’s historical culture.
Other Challenges for Third Ward Business Owners
Funding was provided by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. This graphic was produced by the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy by Alisha Small, M.A. and Lebena Varghese, Ph.D. It was developed by the “Impact of Urban Revitalization on Small Businesses in Third Ward” study based on focus group responses from community-engaged research.
This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
