Purple Line study: Without help, light-rail line will bring gentrification

Government officials and community groups should protect affordable housing and small businesses to prevent gentrification around Purple Line stations under construction in Maryland, according to a two-year analysis released Wednesday. The 16-mile light-rail line that will connect Montgomery and Prince George’s counties — the first direct suburb-to-suburb rail line in the Washington region — is designed to help revitalize older, inner-ring suburbs while providing faster, more reliable mass transit. Some local officials and community leaders have long worried that, without attention, rising land values and rents around the 21 stations will price out business and residents, particularly in lower-income communities in Prince George’s international corridor.