York & Fig: How one lucky store beat the odds
In this episode, a mom-and-pop shop, a magical bus tour and public policy.
What happens to people who get displaced when a neighborhood undergoes gentrification? About a year ago, Marketplace’s Wealth & Poverty team did something unusual — set up a “pop-up” bureau in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The goal was get a street’s-eye view of the changes happening there, as hip new bars and shops replaced old businesses, as longtime residents sold their homes to young couples. The team is revisiting Highland Park in a three-part podcast to see how the neighborhood continues to evolve.
This final episode features the story of one particular little store in Highland Park. It has managed to thrive in the midst of all this change, beating the economic odds with an unlikely stroke of luck. Across the country, business owners, lawmakers and corporations are having their own conversations about their role in understanding neighborhood transformation. Bus tour, anyone?