“Does it profit a neighborhood to gain the world but lose its soul?” This is the question raised in the years after Cincinnati transformed its Over-the-Rhine (OTR) neighborhood from being the most dangerous in the country to one of the coolest. My last column shared the incredible transformation OTR experienced, with over $500MM invested in its reimagining – from what many described as a wasteland to a walkable, vibrant, livable community, teaming with Millennials and professionals, the envy of other cities. OTR is a success by any measure, save one, which has to do with the “G” word.

Invisibility. The redevelopment of OTR displaced many of its long standing residents, and for those who remained, there was, as described in an excellent article in Cincinnati Magazine, an “uneasy overlay of cultures.” In an effort to streamline redevelopment efforts and to accelerate profound change, the business community created an independent development entity known as 3CDC, unencumbered with the transparency and community engagement requirements of the public sector. Reflecting the perception of many interviewed by the Magazine’s columnist, “’3CDC is attempting essentially to create new neighborhoods rather than improve conditions for those in the community.’” The corporate growth strategy for OTR has surpassed all measures; the question unanswered by such redevelopment is whether a human growth strategy can succeed as well.

The G-Word. The Cincinnati Magazine piece avoids mythologizing what had been OTR; it wasn’t safe, healthy, vibrant or pretty but it was home to many engaged, passionate and committed citizens. The challenge the article presents is whether OTR can include “a future that might welcome broad diversity.” As described by one former resident interviewed, “’there as got to be a way to incorporate residents into the plans going forward.’” The reality is the way forward, however well intentioned, requires exploring what the G-word – gentrification – means for a community in flux, beyond being a politically loaded concept. What’s clear from the experiences of Cincinnatians, both wealthy and poor, is we need a different way to think through the displacing effect of redevelopment; we actually need to plan differently.

Urbanization of Opportunity. Cincinnati’s OTR differed little from communities ignored in many of our cities. What is different was the commitment of Cincinnati businesses to drive the transformation of OTR. Neighborhoods change all the time, redevelopment inevitably displaces, but one politician described the scale that OTR experienced as “de-gentrification.” His point was Cincinnati has lost over recent decades 150,000 middle and working class citizens. It lost its healthy mix of classes, careers, talents and communities. His comment suggests an interesting way to rethink gentrification – not as a change of state from poor to rich, but as an equilibrium. To avoid entropy at either end of urban life – working to ensure communities neither end up as dystopian wastelands or as exclusive conclaves, as Richard Florida cautions. The experience with OTR asks us whether we can see gentrification as a state where different classes coexist, where inclusion and equity work as a fulcrum against displacement.

Rethinking Economic Development. Recent research, much from the Brookings Institution, focuses on how to reimagine urban communities in a way that includes all. There are communities getting this balance right, and the results are surprising. Their growth, as measured by conventional economic development metrics, is beating more traditional approaches to redevelopment – where there are winners and losers. It seems that inclusion and equity might actually benefit everyone, but that’s for the next column.

With more than 30 years’ experience in law and business, Newt Fowler, a partner in Womble Bond Dickinson’s business practice, advises many investors, entrepreneurs and technology companies, guiding them through all aspects of business planning, financing transactions, technology commercialization and M&A. He’s the past board chair of TEDCO and serves on the Board of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore. Newt can be reached at newt.fowler@wbd-us.com.