After learning about all the ways revitalization could go wrong, we wanted to learn about the city's plan for avoiding the pitfalls that have happened elsewhere.

Here's a section of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's third inaugural speech, given in January of this year:

"[L]ook at what’s happening in west Louisville. Nearly a billion dollars of investment funding catalytic projects:
The expansion of Waterfront Park, the Louisville Urban League Sports and Learning Complex at 30th and Ali, the YMCA and the new Passport Headquarters at 18th and Broadway, and the Beecher Terrace and Russell revitalization.

For that work, we’re collaborating with the people of Russell, along with businesses, faith groups and other community partners to make sure we restore the great legacy of this neighborhood – once celebrated as the Harlem of the South – without displacing anyone who wants to remain there."

That last bit of emphasis is ours. This week on the show, we sit down with the mayor to ask what plans are in place to prevent displacement in the West End, and we hear from some experts about whether the city is on the right track.

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Homeownership has been touted as “the American dream” for decades -- and some advocates say it’s also the way to prevent gentrification in west Louisville.

On this episode of Here Today, we take a look at homeownership in the West End, and whether owning your own home really leads to inter-generational wealth.

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When you rent a place to live, you’re subject to the whims of your landlord. Whether you’ve lived in your place for a year or 10 years, if your landlord decides to sell, you could be forced out.

The changes happening in west Louisville are affecting the people who live there, and most of them are renters. As property values rise in the West End and property owners consider selling, what does that mean for the renters there?

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The site where Beecher Terrace was built has a story that's much older than the housing complex itself. Louisville's first black doctor had a home there with his family. The city's first cemetery occupied what's now Baxter Square Park.

Before we move on from Beecher Terrace, we spend some time this week learning more of that story.

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Construction of the new Beecher Terrace continues, and fewer than a hundred families are living in what’s left of the old complex. Several hundred others are settling into their new homes throughout the city.

While some displaced residents await the new and improved Beecher, others are content to leave it behind and start anew.

Those who do come back will find themselves living with lots of new neighbors -- not all of whom are low income folks, like before. Will it still feel like home?

Last week we talked about the “big four” West End investments. Today on Here Today, we focus in on the biggest: the over $200 million dollar redevelopment of Beecher Terrace.

Today's additional music:

• "Catching Feelings," Audiobinger
• "Manele," Blue Dot Sessions
• "Never Can Stop It," Lobo Loco

When someone makes a promise to you and then doesn’t follow through, would you believe them the next time? And if you trust them a second time and they don’t come through, what about a third time?

In recent years, plans for new developments in the West End -- like the FoodPort and a Super Walmart -- have come and gone. Now, west Louisville residents are again being asked to put their faith in planned developments aimed at revitalizing the neighborhoods, particularly Russell.

Will things be different this time? For some projects, the answer seems to be yes -- things are going along as planned. For others, the future seems less certain. _

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