The Negative Effects Of Gentrification

Gentrification presents itself when outsiders enter an urban community, commonly densely populated with people of color, and through complicit actions wards off the residents within. As the area begins to gain popularity and appeal, the soaring property prices create an incentive for the property owners to rid of the tenants to make room for the newcomers. Furthermore, corporations begin to supersede homes and exploit defenseless communities. Although the newcomers do tend to improve these previously indigent neighborhoods, it comes at the destruction of the cultures that exist within said neighborhoods. Therefore, the amenities of the communities of color enervate in the name of gentrification.

A study by The Urban Institute describes gentrification as “a process whereby higher-income households move into low income neighborhoods, escalating the area’s property values to the point that displacement occurs.” Gentrification generally takes place in deteriorating urban or rural areas. The purpose of gentrification is to take struggling neighborhoods and stabilize them by increasing property value. Naturally the system isn’t perfect, as it has the side effect of displacement, which can cause some people to have to move to a different location, but overall gentrification is much more beneficial than destructive on a large scale. All neighborhoods have to be improved eventually. Gentrification is simply the most effective way of doing it. Although there are some negatives associated with Gentrification, in the long run it succeeds in creating a better place for people to live, and the pros far outweigh the cons.

According to Sanneh, gentrification “at first referred to instances of new arrivals who were buying up (and building up) old housing stock, but then there was ‘new-build gentrification’. Especially in America, gentrification … white arrivals who were displacing non-white residents and taking over a ghetto” (Sanneh). As rent prices around the country continue to rise, more young people have been moving into historically, inner-city communities. Although this provides an affordable solution for incoming residents, it also leads to gentrification or the displacement of existing communities by wealthier

In the constantly changing economy of cities, the growth of city housing is oftentimes neglected. In “Cities Mobilize to Help Those Threatened by Gentrification” Timothy Williams recounts how gentrification has evolved over the years. Mentioning how cities have changed in order to appease the younger professionals, Williams shows how the city itself is in jeopardy due to the tax increases. Slowly loosing their faithful residents as well as historic culture cities face a big deal. Williams gives quotes from faithful residents, “…long time homeowners are victims of the success story”, (Williams 346). In “Cities Mobilize to Help Those Threatened by Gentrification”, Williams uses his credible quotes and modern statistics to generate the reader’s emotions, with desire to change how city officials go about gentrification in culturally infused cities.

When a neighborhood is gentrified it will not only change the image of it, but also the services available there (Al-Kodmany 2011, 62-63). In other words, gentrification does not only have an impact on the physical aspect of the land, but also the resources that lie there. During the 90s, the Near West Side neighborhood located near Loop, an up-scale neighborhood, sought drastic changes within the area. The changes in racial demographics in the Near West Side indicated that the health risks that affected minorities dropped in the past decade (1992-2002) (Al-Kodmany 2011,

Imagine living in a neighborhood with all of your friends, family, and a new strip mall that opened down the street. Your parents are concerned but you don’t see the problem. They know that a new strip mall means new shoppers. These new shoppers are going to want to move closer to that new strip mall, and once they do, everything changes. The more middle class people move in, the higher the property value, the higher the property value, the higher the rent and mortgages are. Eventually you have to move away from everybody into a neighborhood with worse schools and a poorer economy because your parents can’t afford to be there anymore. This type of story happens everyday to low income families, the process is called gentrification. Gentrification is not a good practice, since it moves groups of people out of their homes and neighborhoods.

During my interview, Dr. Owens let me know that the U.S. Census Bureau stopped collecting data on income, and referred me to the American Community survey. Furthermore, she gave me feedback on my index for gentrification, and made the suggestion to exclude race and ethnicity since affluent racial minorities can contribute to gentrification. By specifying the factors investigating and listing my assumptions, I give the a general idea of why I think that these factors are important to the operationalization of gentrification, and support my choices with what has been done in past studies. In the discussion section, I reason why this study is significant and how it could lead to subsequent policy changes. By outlining ways in which different audiences can benefit from this study, I show that in addition to extending the existing research, my study has the potential to make societal impacts across various fields. If this proposal were to become a dissertation, this section would be more extensive and would draw upon the results found after collecting all the

Gentrification brings positive long term effects to communities and cities nationwide. Direct results of gentrification for both the residents and the city are the economical growth, local job opportunities created and a higher tax base available. (Stacey Sutton, Urbanly planning Scholar, defined gentrification as): Gentrification is the process of higher status people renovating lower class urban neighborhoods to satisfy middle-higher class standards (Sutton, 2015). In the process of gentrification throughout the United States, it is positively impacting the economy in more ways than one. One benefit of gentrification is the economical growth residents benefit from.

Gentrification is defined as the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste (Google). While many people can argue that gentrification is everything positive, there is a major loss that occur when gentrification appear in a culturally rich neighborhood. These culturally rich communities are usually located in a low-income neighborhood which is more susceptible to being gentrified. Much like a lot of decisions ever made, there are pros and con. The arguments for people that are pro gentrification is the financial effect it has on the community.

Now days walking down the streets of Atlanta, we see the new neighborhoods consisting of condos, Starbucks, yoga classes and Chipotle. Gentrification is a growing problem in urban areas as the influx of the riches have caused the displacement of lower class families due to higher economic demands and local politics. According to Diane K. Levy, Jennifer Comey and Sandra Padilla (2005), “We define gentrification as the process whereby higher-income households move into low income neighborhoods, escalating the area’s property values to the point that displacement occurs. In addition to changes in economic class, gentrification often involves a change in a neighborhood’s racial and ethnic composition…” (p.1). Though gentrification has lasting affects on the economic status of cities, there are also repercussions that not only effect working individuals but also the students that attend school in these gentrified areas. When areas are gentrified, schools are rezoned thus leading to long lasting consequences that students must face. Some believe that gentrification is beneficial to a growing economy in a growing city, but the realities of the its lasting effects on education are often left under the radar. The issues that lie within the education system as it pertains to gentrification include day segregation and unequal opportunities between affluent and low-income areas.

Gentrification is not always seen as bad, there are many arguments that push for change and the bettering of spaces but always at the cost of the people of color and lower class citizens. The structure of society pushes them to the bottom, never in the media is there a clear wrong doing from gentrification, at worst it is a necessary evil to better communities and cities. “These alternative geographies are predicated on difference and the spatialization of non-dominant groups; alternative geographies are points of struggle which highlight the tension between dominant geographies and difference. Thus, imaginary geographies which do not neatly align themselves with conventional geographies, knowledges which reconfigure established geographical meanings, and resistant political locations, all suggest that difference is indicative of alternative geographies and geographic struggles.” (McKittrick & Peake, 13) Difference defines space and racism, by pointing out the difference groups can gain control of the system and have power over other groups. Gentrification is the middle class using their privilege to “better” a neighborhood and displace anyone of lower class that can not afford

Gentrification in Chicago is kicking thousands of low income people out of their homes, but can it be a good thing? “Gentrification is the process of renewing and renovating urban, low-income neighborhoods, usually to help accommodate middle and upper class citizens causing an increase in property values. This often leads to many lower class residents abandoning the community and the foot print they may have left there. The nice part of this act is that it can put a good impact on the city and its economy. But who is this affected the most and how can we help? I know that this act can hurt a lot of people, but I do believe it has more positive effects than negative.

Viewing the complex matter of gentrification succinctly, it helps to uncover how multifaceted it is; in that gentrification involves the oppression, marginalization, displacement of vulnerable populations, particularly, the poor, and the black who are often already negatively impacted by the effects of classism, and racism. Gentrification threatens to erode the communities and livelihood maintained by these set of people because their displacement becomes a precondition for the total transformation of the area.

Gentrification is a problem that is occurring in many communities. The city of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles is one of the communities that the citizens of the community are notice new apartments build, galleries owner by rich people, and high prices for apartment the people are not able to afford to live there. Because the renewal of neighborhood environments that transform and attract middle and upper-class households and investors, creating problems for those who cannot afford rises of rents. According to O’Regan, “some of the biggest concerns about gentrification-potential displacement and increased rent burdens-are driven by rent or housing cost increases” (152). The only way to

Gentrification has been a controversial issue both in urban planning and politics primarily due to the displacement of poor people by the rich folks (Shaw & Hagemans, 2015). Many individuals have viewed gentrification as an illegal act that should be avoided at all costs. On the other hand, another group of people believe that gentrification is the way forward to promoting growth and development. With such contrasting ideas, this paper is going to take a look at gentrification from a positive and negative perspective, its effects, and how it can be prevented or contained. Apart from this, the paper will also address the following questions.