77: Did Two Decades of Urban Renewal Benefit Small Businesses in Houston’s Third Ward?

Houston’s Third Ward is one of the city’s most historic Black neighborhoods. It’s also the site of longstanding and consequential debates about gentrification and redevelopment. Urban revitalization is meant to spur economic growth and benefit inner-city communities like the Third Ward — but do the changes actually benefit existing small business owners? Economist Alisha Small joined David Satterfield to discuss her research into the impact of urban revitalization efforts on small businesses in Houston’s Third Ward. For more, read Small’s recent working paper: “The Economic Interdependence of the Developed and the Developing: Two Decades of Urban Revitalization and Its Economic Impact on Third Ward Small Businesses.” This conversation was recorded on Jan. 30, 2025.