How Gentrification Is Damaging Neighborhoods

There has been a recent phenomenon throughout the United States of gentrification. As older parts of neighborhoods are occupied by new tenants with money, the neighborhood changes and loses its old character. Those who might have lived in those neighborhoods their entire lives are pushed out as rents begin to skyrocket and the surroundings begin to change. This has happened in many neighborhoods. One of the most well known is San Francisco, where technology companies have brought in new software engineers that have caused local rents to skyrocket and people to move out of the area. However, just as importantly has been the influx of new money to Brooklyn, where local neighborhood changes have forced people from their homes, traditional music to be replaced, and old businesses to go bankrupt.

Gentrification is the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that is conforms to middle class taste. The term is often used negatively, suggesting the displacement of poor communities by rich outsiders. Often people who are displaced cannot find affordable housing, and this can lead to homelessness. Gentrification is hurting Colorado families because 1.) it causes prices increases for Denver metro rents, 2.) it displaces and breaks up families, and 3.) offers no affordable housing options for those displaced. () Definition.

“I took a trip to Oakland, California and fell in love with the area. We stayed at an Air B&B for the three days of our stay and the house was absolutely beautiful, it looked like my dream home. Despite all the glitz and glamour around us we noticed a large amount of homelessness compared to Columbus. We found out that this property is not someone’s home but a house used strictly as an Air B&B. When you hear something like that and see the amount of homelessness it makes you wonder how many of these homes are strictly for show? So after researching I found out, the reason for the rampant homelessness can be attributed to large increases in rent. Even worse, the cause for the increase is due to Silicon Valley” (Kasongo, 2017). Unfortunately, rent increasing virtually overnight is the reality of many low-income families. This situation is called gentrification and is felt throughout the world, from the Midwest, East coast or even Western Europe, no region is immune to this process. Gentrification in the Midwest is extensive and wide causing the displacement of many low-income minority residents which can lead to even bigger issues.

Gentrification can be defined simply as the shift in the makeup of the people in a community. It is the transition in a community from a run down, poorer area to a more wealthy demographic. Gentrification starts with the increase of property values caused by brokers and real estate agents. These brokers and real estate agents usually benefit the most from gentrification. Businesses that are moving in are storefront coffee shops, cafes, boutiques, etc. Since these newer, nicer shops are occupying the storefront, the rent for the apartments above rise, causing many people to lose their homes. The new tenants that move into these apartments are typically young and hip. They prefer to hang out at these coffee shops below. These new landlords are more in touch with the demographic changes and are looking to change the area in order to make money. The older, current landlords do not see a need for change. Some people will argue that gentrification is inevitable. While gentrification is happing all over the world, I did my research specifically on downtown Kansas City, Missouri, Harlem, New York, and DUMBO, Brooklyn, New York. Gentrification comes with both positive and negative effects. These three areas each show a unique perspective on gentrification.

Many opponents to gentrification argue that it will cause property taxes to go up and cause many families to struggle. Rising property taxes could occur, and may result in more struggles in the lower class and families that are already struggling, but these struggles are still just something that may happen but is not a guaranteed repercussion. There are many families that are trying to stay afloat and are barely doing so. Living paycheck to paycheck, a tax increase can be detrimental for some families. It will help improve communities and promote new businesses. Author of “Cities Mobilize to Help Those Threatened by

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 The Oxford English Dictionary, gentrification is defined as the renovation and improvement of a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste (Oxford English Dictionary). This definition absolutely fits the description of the current transformation of the inner City of Baltimore. When we look at neighborhoods such as Westport, Federal Hill, and Canton, it is evident that gentrification is on the City of Baltimore’s agenda. During the last two terms that Mayor Martin O’Mally has presided over the city, there have been many changes in administration and the population that are causing devastating effects on the city’s blue collar residents. The Baltimore City

First, let's start with what gentrification is. Google defines it as “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste”, but the image Gentrification usually evokes when brought into discussion is hipsters moving into a run-down but charming neighborhood and transforming it into something completely different. What is a hipster? Some may call them the fairy godmothers of the once neglected area, and others may refer to them as the monsters that are displacing families to make an artisan beard oil shop, but we’ll touch on that later.

The problem of gentrification pertains primarily to class which is undoubtedly linked to race as well. As previously stated, there has been an influx of people moving into Washington D.C. Between 2000 and 2015 the population of Washington D.C. has increased by “about 100,000 people” who have mainly been “white professionals” (Duggan). This change in the population can be reflected in how drastically the average household income has changed within the District of Columbia within the last fifteen years. In 1999, the average household income in D.C. was $64,401 (United States Census Bureau) and in 2014 it was $104,615 (United States Census Bureau), a difference of

When cities begin their journey of being gentrified, many locals become displaced. Displacement is when locals are uprooted from their homes, due to outside factors, and forced to move elsewhere. According to the Urban Displacement Project conducted by U.C. Berkeley, “Gentrification results from both flows of capital and people. The extent to which gentrification is linked to racial transition differs across neighborhood contexts... Displacement takes many different forms—direct and indirect, physical or economic, and exclusionary—and may result from either investment or disinvestment” (U.C. Berkeley). Many people are coming into San Francisco’s Bay Area because of how diverse each element is. However, according to Census numbers, between 1990 and 2010, 35.7% of San Francisco’s black population dwindled (Bliss). 35.7% of the black community within San Francisco suffered from displacement. An additional 53% of low-income households in the Bay Area are at risk for displacement and gentrification (U.C. Berkeley). This has definitely left a dent within the diversity reputation held up by the Bay Area. When such a strong large part of people leave, The City will experience a shift in culture and community. Whether, it is the real estate, the food, the different cultures, the Bay Area has always been known for being different. Perhaps, this is why so many outsiders are coming in and buying up every piece of land they can. Whether their intentions were to purchase land and

Yet another effect of gentrification is its effect on senior citizens. Seniors often live in the same unit for many years. As a result, rent control has kept their rents well below market rate, and landlords stand to gain the most from evicting them. For example, in the Mission District of San Francisco, many seniors live on a fixed income, and cannot afford market rate rents once they are evicted. "They lack mobility, and have difficulty

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 planned or unplanned process where wealthy individuals "displace" poor individuals from their areas of living by purchasing the property and later upgrading it through modernization and renovation (Brown-Saracino, 2013). Ruth Glass coined the term Gentrification in her book London: Aspects of Change in reference to the influx of wealthy individuals to poorly inhabited areas in central London in 1964 (Brown-Saracino, 2013). These rich individuals were referred to as “gentry” hence the term gentrification.

According to Dictionary.com, “gentrification is the process of renovating houses and stores in urban neighborhoods to fit the middle or upper-income families, raising property value, but often displacing low-income families.” Gentrification has been an idea since the 1960s and had an effect on countless cities and neighborhood communities. Gentrification was first used by Ruth Glass in her book London: Aspect of Change in 1964, she noted that ¨gentrification can progress rapidly until all or most of the original working-class occupiers are displaced, and the whole social character of the district is changed.” Nonetheless, gentrification has helped revive many cities and revolutionize them, especially with technological

Since the early 2000s, gentrification accelerated in various New York City neighborhoods. Data shown that about 29.8 percent of New York City has been affected by gentrification in low-income communities (Governing Data 1). This is over a 20 percent increased from the previous decade in New York City alone. Gentrification is a term used to describe displacement or renewal in urban neighborhoods as a result of increasing property values and rent prices. Gentrification has existed since the 1960s but has rapidly increased since then . Gentrification has now become a common and global controversial topic in many low-income neighborhood. Although, gentrification hasn’t always been bad from increasing job opportunities to lowering crime rates. Gentrification has impacted and transformed underprivileged districts in New York City. However, at the advantage of who ? Thus, gentrification has only increased average rates of poverty and infused neighborhoods with “white privilege”.