Senior Amiya Young writes opinion piece for The Post and Courier

Amiya Young, a Furman University senior, writes an opinion piece for The Post and Courier about affordable housing and gentrification in Greenville, South Carolina. Young, who studies health sciences and poverty studies at the university, interned with Sustaining Way through the Riley Institute Summer Experience (RISE).

She describes the downside of booming growth in Greenville including higher property taxes for longtime residents and skyrocketing rent prices, which have led to a mass exodus of residents in historically Black neighborhoods like Sterling, Nicholtown, New Washington Heights and West Greenville. “Erosion of long-established minority neighborhoods diminishes any city’s soul,” she writes.

Young points to the GVL2040 Comprehensive Plan as a good start toward mitigating growing pains citing the plan’s $40 million Affordable Housing Action Fund. Beyond GVL2040, she says the city needs to prioritize land trusts, inclusionary zoning practices, and workforce development and education programs to protect living spaces for all Greenville residents.