Safety and shelter, food and water- basic human needs to sustain life. Yet, these needs go increasingly unmet for large portions of the population, often starting with housing, from which a host of problems stems. Health and housing are ineradicably linked, as the stories told in CPR’s podcast Place and Privilege exemplify. The evidence is even closer than one might think- Sacramento, California has already begun to feel the impact of gentrification and it’s low-income residents, unable to “compete” for housing they already live in, are essentially pushed out of housing and pushed out of any positives gentrifying a neighborhood might create. Gentrification, which develops and invests in housing to suit middle-class tastes and create a sense …show more content…
However, the human cost of gentrification is mass displacement of lower & even middle-income residents, which pushes their quality of life downward and negatively impacts physical and mental health. This coincides with the privatization of other industries that fulfill human need over several years, most notably the healthcare industry, inadequate access to which goes hand in hand with poor quality housing.
There is an illusory choice in both healthcare and housing, a sense that options do exist in regards to what kind of medical treatment one gets or where one lives. Realities of the limitations of the current healthcare and housing system and the overwhelming power of private industry undercut the impression of choice. In several ways over the past few decades, social services have been gutted and replaced by the sway of private investors. In Two Dollars A Day, Edin & Schafer explore the process of dismantling the so-called welfare state and the rise of private charity. The latter refers to resources like the Salvation Army or Red Cross, which do participate in helping those in need, however, are not as widely accessible or regulated as state/federal programs.
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The specter of homelessness creates a psychological burden, and trauma created by physical displacement has influence over health. The benefits of gentrification are only distributed to a few residents, the demographics of which skew affluent white professionals, lower-income residents (often people of color) mostly remain cut off from the “good” of neighborhood revitalization. There is an undercurrent implication that a better neighborhood is one without them, exemplified by Section 8 voucher discrimination, like Lynda’s story. Landlords, private building owners in California currently have the right to deny voucher recipients housing on the basis that decreases the desirability of neighborhoods. While laws have been proposed to criminalize such discrimination, pro-business attitudes and advocacy have ultimately won out in the past, prioritizing the needs of few under private business over human interests. Physiological effects of this on vulnerable populations, like a member of the older population such as Lynda. “Like many people her age, Lynda no longer works, and her health is not great. She has glaucoma and anxiety.” Financial stress over housing woes exacerbates already present health problems and present health-impacted residents as a potential liability for landlords, a situation familiar to
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,
Many advocates and policymakers of housing for the poor believe that to achieve optimal human development of low-income households the location of the housing must be considered as well as the quality of the housing unit (Newman, 2008).
One other glaring example of the injustice committed by gentrification is the attack on localized social life, which in itself is a manifestation of the many wrongs perpetuated by this so called “painless” process, because before gentrification many of these areas were able to create and foster this sense of communal solidarity, which afforded and allowed them to build generational relationships, which placed an emphasis on creating a real sense of community pride. Therefore, many of the local residents took to the heart in looking out for what was best for their neighbors, thus there was not this sense of entitlement exhibited in residents, but a real sense of pride in knowing that they themselves were able to create something uniquely their own
It is often easy to castigate large cities or third world countries as failures in the field of affordable housing, yet the crisis, like an invisible cancer, manifests itself in many forms, plaguing both urban and suburban areas. Reformers have wrestled passionately with the issue for centuries, revealing the severity of the situation in an attempt for change, while politicians have only responded with band aid solutions. Unfortunately, the housing crisis easily fades from our memory, replaced by visions of homeless vets, or starving children. Metropolis magazine explains that “…though billions of dollars are spent each year on housing and development programs worldwide, ? At least 1 billion people
Affordable housing has become the paramount issue of cities and dense urban areas. San Francisco is the posterchild of an unaffordable city that regardless of immense investment from blue chip firms like Google, Facebook, and their ilk of startups evaluated at $1 billion or more, policymakers and elected officials must wrestle with the housing affordability crisis that is considered endogenous to swaths of homelessness and record statistics on crime. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has made affordable housing the centerpiece of his legislation and championed the cause as a social justice issue—neighborhoods must remain affordable to maintain diversity for all races, ethnicities, and low-income families. A small sample of 827 New Yorkers by the NY1-Baruch College City Poll found the main concern of respondents was affordable housing while crime, jobs, and homelessness were peripheral problems (Cuza, 2016). The public discourse on how to address housing across the United States has pointed to negative externalities that surround rent-regulation and homeownership. Conversely, for this essay I will present various cases in order to illustrate the housing crunch is influenced less by housing and land regulations, or antagonistic homeowners but is induced by global market forces.
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.
Gentrification is a problem that is plaguing cities all over the United States. Within the past decade, there has been an influx of people moving to Washington D.C., causing gentrification to become a prominent issue in the nation’s capital. People who have lived in certain parts of the city for generations are now being pushed out because of “escalating rents and real estate taxes associated with rising property values” (Duggan). And while it may be a positive thing that some areas of the city are experiencing revitalization, it’s a problem that the people who have been there are unable to experience it. Furthermore, there are certain areas of the city such as Anacostia, where poverty remains prominent. Gentrification is an issue in Washington D.C. that doesn’t seem like it is going to go away any time soon.
Adding to the inequalities and misfortunes within communities of color, gentrification has taken the Bay Area by a storm. Gentrification is the purchasing of deteriorated urban homes and areas, then the renovation by higher-end and middle class communities. An abundance of high-end people rush into the Bay Area and purchase up the real estate. Incoming middle and higher class take the Bay Area real estate and revitalise it into up-and-coming neighborhoods, then increase rent prices. Therefore, reducing affordable housing for communities of color. Therefore, this revitalization is changing the character of communities because the Bay Area may appear nicer, the communities of color are unable to afford the standard of living. Communities of
According to Newman and Wyly, Rapid gentrification has put incredible burden on low-income residents. Tenants, advocates, and community leaders have stated that displacement put much strain for the low-income, working class, elderly and immigrant communities of New York city. Community leaders report that residents often double- or triple-up with family and friends, become homeless or move into the city shelter system, or move out of the city.
Gentrification has brought conflict in numerous major cities in America, including New York City, usually involving issues of race and finance. The alteration of communities has been viewed as the malfunction of society, where rich predominantly white folk are praised for making a district “better”. It is in these same neighborhoods where minority occupants are forced to leave their homes due to inflamed rents. People should not be forced to move out of their homes with the intent of “improving” the neighborhood. (Flag Wars) Gentrification also gives rise to a moral standpoint for poor communities: is it really humane to knock down a building occupied by the working and lower income families with the intent to build a business that you are so certain will be a success?
Each and everyday minorities are removed from their homes. Most times there's no valid reasoning behind this, the majority of the time, they are removed from their homes due to big companies. These minorities are affected in many ways besides losing their homes, they also lose their jobs. This all leads to different outcomes. Gentrification is a rapidly growing problem in Boston and the US in general. In an article written by Beth Treffeisen, whom works for the Boston Media Network, He states ¨More than a fifth of Boston neighborhoods – 21 percent of the 57 city tracts described as eligible to gentrify – have become gentrified since 2000.” This is showing how much of a problem Gentrification because it's constantly costing people their homes
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.
In America there are lot of changes happening, in fact they are happening so fast many people so not realize what is going on until it is too late. One of the major things going on right now is a process called Gentrification, which is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district’s character and culture. The term is often used negatively, suggesting the displacement of poor communities by rich outsiders (Bryant, 2013). Gentrification has been the cause of painful conflict in many American cities, often along racial and economic fault lines. Neighborhood change is often viewed as a miscarriage of social justice, in which wealthy, usually white, newcomers are congratulated for “improving” a neighborhood whose poor, minority residents are displaced by skyrocketing rents and economic change (Bryant, 2013). Gentrification is changing neighborhoods and pushing so many residents out, while at the same time bringing in a lot of wealth, which makes these changes hard to say no to. But with that neighborhoods are losing the culture and diversity that has made the Bay Area what it is today and with the culture and diversity gone they are losing a big part of what makes it such a great place to live.
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.