“Defenders vs. disrupters: The debate over preserving neighborhood character in Ann Arbor”
By Ryan Stanton and McKenna Ross
MLive/Ann Arbor News
July 26, 2020
“…Savabieasfahani is concerned Ann Arbor has become ‘a segregated town for the rich.’
“For decades, city government has favored private development over the needs of working people, she said.
“ ‘Single-family zoning drives Black residents out of Ann Arbor,’ she said. ‘Single-family zoning, which has been abolished in Grand Rapids and Minneapolis, is racist to the bone, from its earliest days until now. Ann Arbor needs to abolish single-family zoning to facilitate public housing.’
“Savabieasfahani clarified she doesn’t want to see neighborhoods become ‘hunting ground for private developers to gentrify,’ but she does support public housing.”