A public forum was held Thursday evening to discuss race, class, and development in Lexington. The forum was well attended, with people from a diverse range of ethnicity and economic status filling a conference room at the Lexington Senior Center. The topic of discussion centered around gentrification, defined by Lexington city councilmembers as a neighborhood in transition to suit an exclusive, upper-income, white community… as opposed to revitalization, which the event hosts described as a transition toward communities of mixed income and race.
Kentucky State University’s Roger Cleveland facilitated the discussion. After discussing in small groups, community members spoke out on issues including affordable housing, minority displacement due to urban development, and the different relationships that some neighborhoods have with policing and code enforcement.
Suggestions from the community were taken down at the forum, to be reviewed by Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council.