To start here’s a pretty good definition of gentrification:
The rehabilitation of a deteriorated neighborhood by new residents who are wealthier than the long-time residents. This can cause an increase in housing prices and lead to displacement of the long-time residents. via
Recently I’ve been looking at houses in the nearby neighborhood, helping our friends search for a potential home to buy. Every time I turn my eye to real estate I’m flooded with an overwhelming feeling of a need to do something about gentrification.
I first noticed gentrification when we were in Atlanta doing Americorps and the concept was explained to me. It was white flight in reverse. Wealthy folks had long lived on the outskirts of the city, but now there was a desire to move back in. It’s becoming cool to be a city dweller again. Neighborhoods that had been well in-tacked for years contained families that did not have huge incomes, but they had the stability of owning a home, some a home that had been in the family for a while. Money though, is a powerful thing. When a house would go up for sale in one of these neighborhoods (take Grant Park for instance), a realtor would buy it up. They’d then tear it down or do major renovations and double or triple the houses value. This in turn increase the property tax on all the homes in the area, eventually forcing some families to sell who had had the stability of owning their homes for years. Eventually, these neighborhoods turned from what they once where to something completely different. The houses our different, but more tragically, all the people in the neighborhood are different. And what happens to those who used to live there, who used to call that home for years prior? They search for what they can afford, which is now farther from the city, their jobs, their previous community. This is wrong.
Atlanta was not, and is not, the only place this is occuring. Every major city I’ve been in, from Chicago to Minneapolis to Nashville, they are all experiencing serious gentrification. And the terrible thing is there doesn’t seem to be a solution to it. It’s been my experience that those with money do not enjoy or desire to live next to those without (though they often live quite close). Large homes are not built next to public housing in happy harmony. The solution, and the force that drives the problem is Money. If I had a million dollars I could buy up every home in my nearby neighborhood and make sure it was not turned into something that would force out it’s current residents. But I don’t have a million dollars, and in the end it seems no one who has the money or power cares enough to actually try and stop this. I’m looking for stories of solutions, stories of communities that don’t force people out, but figure out a way to peacefully care for all their members. If anyone knows of any solutions, please let me know.
the really depressing part is that edgehill’s getting so gentrified that, if you really DID have a million dollars, you’d only be able to buy 3 houses. things have really gotten out of control..and you’re right…there’s not a real good solution to the problem.
..when all the wealthy suburbanites take over urban neighborhoods, all the “marginal” suburbs are going to suffer the worst..becoming the ghettos of the future.
weird weird stuff
gentrification was my justice project when I did mission year. I have a pretty good understanding of it, but it’s tough to find many solutions. It’s a hard sell for cities desperate to change their image to turn down a developer who is throwing cash at them.
I think the closest thing to a solution is these public/private housing partnerships. They are coprorations, but they work with the public sector to offer nice, affordable housing. I interviewed several people from such organizations, and I think it’s a good idea.
Also Lawndale in Chicago offered some good solutions also. they really try to promote home ownership to folks in their community. You don’t see that neighborhood gentrifiying, the church there is too politically strong to allow that to happen.
A bunch of loosly-related thoughs..but we should talk more about it. it’s always been on my heart, especially now that I cover real estate for the newspaper.
Your comments only highlight the negative aspects of gentrification. They fail to point out that many blacks who sell their homes are able to relocate to other areas with less crime and better schools.
And explain this to me. Was Dr King a crazy idealist? Did he not envision blacks and whites going to church together, going to school together?
And whites who relocate to urban centers certainly have no qualms about having black neighbors or living near liquor stores and check cashing centers. What I have seen (in Atlanta) is blacks and whites more friendly with each other than ever before, more multiracial barbeques, integrated churches, and so forth.
And if the source of unskilled labor decreases, wouldn’t that mean better wages for the workers? How is this bad?
I have found that most of the opposition to gentrification comes from politicians and church leaders who find themselves losing their base of support., reminiscent of a time decades earlier when racist white politicians, particularly in the South, felt that same heat coming around the corner. It took fearless black stalwarts to stand up to the racist white power structure and tear it down.
The onus is on the black citizenry to decide if they want to integrate as Dr. King wanted or to remain segregated as the Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam, and other fear mongers want. Now that whites are fearless and unafraid to live, work, and play alongside blacks, will the black power structure (that’s been in place for 30 years in most major cities) resist what looks to be the next step towards the elimination of overt racism amongst city dwellers?
I welcome comments from all interested and informed parties, but please keep the discussion civil.