Economic development can bring new opportunities, but it can also increase the risk of displacement, particularly for Black households. This report examines Invest STL's Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place pilot, an innovative effort to help Black residents of St. Louis’s West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods remain in their communities amid ongoing neighborhood change. Through a rigorous evaluation, we assess whether direct investments and financial planning support reduced displacement risk and expanded access to wealth-building tools.

Why This Matters

Economic development can increase housing costs and make it harder for longtime residents to stay in their communities. When families are displaced, they often lose access to the very opportunities that neighborhood investment creates. And worse, the communities they ultimately move to may lack similar opportunities. The Rooted pilot was designed to test whether direct investments in residents, rather than investments in places alone, could help Black households build wealth and remain positioned to benefit from neighborhood change.

What We Found

• Rooted reduced displacement risk. Participants in the treatment group were about 9 percentage points less likely than control group members to move out of their neighborhood two years after randomization.
• Rooted increased the use of financial planners and access to investment accounts. Participants were substantially more likely to meet with financial planners and more likely to hold investment accounts than members of the control group.
• Evidence of wealth gains was mixed. We found no statistically significant differences in net worth between the treatment and control group members. However, many participants described wealth in broader terms, encompassing housing stability, preservation of family assets, and the ability to remain in their homes.

The findings suggest that direct investments in residents may help communities reduce displacement risk and expand access to wealth-building opportunities. Although the pilot was small and external events complicated impact measurement (e.g., a tornado in May 2025), the results point to a promising strategy for helping longtime residents remain positioned to benefit from neighborhood change.

How We Did It

The Urban Institute evaluated the Rooted pilot through an implementation study and a randomized controlled trial. Eligible applicants were assigned by lottery to either receive Rooted funding and services or serve as a control group. Researchers collected survey data over several years, analyzed credit bureau data from Civic Insight, and conducted interviews, focus groups, data walks, and document reviews. Together, these quantitative and qualitative methods assessed program implementation, participant experiences, and impacts on financial well-being, housing stability, and wealth building.