Plan calls for affordable housing in the Southwest rail corridor.

Despite the widespread notion that the Southwest light-rail line would cater to professionals commuting from the wealthy western suburbs, the train also will cut past working-class homes with incomes well below the metro median.

That’s why one-third of the 11,200 new apartments, condos and homes expected along the line through 2030 should be for those with low and moderate incomes, according to a Southwest LRT Corridor working group.

Those goals are designed to ensure that the metro area’s first light-rail line extending deep into the suburbs won’t cause wholesale gentrification of lower-income neighborhoods, where rapid transit is more a necessity than a convenience, said Hopkins Economic Development Director Kersten Elverum.
http://www.startribune.com/affordable-housing-a-must-along-southwest-lrt-according-to-strategy/374434431/