Rhetorical Analysis Of Gentrification

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,

“Words are not passive; indeed, they help to share and create our perceptions of the world around us. The terms we choose to label or describe events must, therefore, convey appropriate connotations or images of the phenomenon under consideration in order to avoid serious misunderstandings. The existence of different terms to describe gentrification is not an accident, neither is the plethora of definitions for it” (Palen & London, 1984, p. 6). SAY SOMETHING Peter Marcuse (1999) argues that, “how gentrification is evaluated depends a great deal on how it is defined” (p. 789). Defining gentrification properly is necessary for anchoring an analysis of neighborhood change, particularly in light of recent scholarly efforts to replace the term (to describe the process) with less critical names like: ‘urban renaissance’,

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.

During the past few years, gentrification has been on an uprise.“Nearly 20 percent of neighborhoods with lower incomes and home values have experienced gentrification since 2000, compared to only 9 percent during the 1990s.” Gentrification is happening in areas that supposedly need a change, such as the low-income neighborhoods in New York City, Minneapolis, Seattle and Washington, D.C.Factors such as uniqueness, accessibility, the energy of the neighborhood and reasonably priced homes attract gentrifiers. It has altered many cities in the country. Gentrification can be defined as the procedure of reestablishment and remaking due to the flood of prosperous individuals into falling apart and low-income areas that frequently displaces poorer

It is no secret that homelessness is quickly becoming an epidemic in the United States, but the homeless population is not one secular demographic. For every person in the US living on the street, there is a unique story of how they got there; nonetheless, that is not to say that many of these stories are without some commonalities. Along with homelessness, there is another issue plaguing American cities, but this issue is much more covert, and exists under a guise of improvements like fancy apartments and trendy restaurants. Gentrification is defined as “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste” (Erikson); but what that definition fails to mention is the discourse it has on the

As a New Yorker, the author bases his article in the big apple and starts it off by notifying the audience that New York residents are familiar with gentrifying all too well. Davidson continues on to state that “Gentrification doesn’t need to be something that one group inflicts on another…” (349), rather, he suggests that everyone be on the same page when it comes to developing their communities. Later on in the article Davidson brings up a vital point that Jonathan Rose, a “private do-gooder” developer presents, “…the key is to make sure that residents and shop-keepers in low-income neighborhoods have equity and a political voice, before a real estate surge” (352). The point the

In order to understand why developers targeted Harlem for gentrification, it is crucial to discuss the causes of gentrification. As the time has progressed people’s preference have changed. The inclination toward fewer children, higher divorce rate, women in the workforce and the postponement of marriage have encouraged people to settle in urban neighborhoods. Young women’s participation in the professional

Originally a movement started by artists who moved into these neighborhoods for their affordability, real estate developers and urban planners take advantage of this increased demand for residence as an opportunity to convert once dilapidated buildings into luxury housing units. These once lifeless neighborhoods are given business, increased jobs, and a “safer” atmosphere. However, complying with the basic rules of supply and demand, as demand for housing in these neighborhoods increases, housing prices also go up. As once affordable housing prices hit astronomical rates, lower-income families that once lived in these neighborhoods are eventually forced out when they simply cannot afford to pay rent

Communities that are becoming more gentrified have already seen an improvement of life, and positive lasting changes in those communities. Patrick Gillespie

In Linda Sutton excerpt she stated that urban renewal uprooted families, friendships and the unity felt within the community as well. Hearing testimonies from people who have witnessed the past and present effects of urban renewal was rather upsetting. As well, as it was eye-opening to hear the effects of urban renewal from a personal point of view. I believe their stories have given great insight to resident’s emotions towards urban renewal. In addition, it was informative to hear the true intentions behind urban renewal in class, but hearing the effects as it pertained to actual residents through these excerpts was heartbreaking. Each testimony given expressed some form of pain towards the situation. In conclusion, these testimonies informed

The logical extension is to “curate” our urban spaces like style blogs or Pinterest boards representing a single, self-satisfied and extremely sheltered expression of middle- and upper-middle-class sensibility.” Interestingly, Willams fails to acknowledge and perhaps realize that he himself is part of the gentrifying force changing the neighborhood, claiming everything looks like Brooklyn or New York or a ‘wanna be’ SoHo or Park Slope. By the same token, much of what he relates to and observes are aspects I myself whole-heartedly agree with when it comes the loss character of certain neighborhoods, as his ethnographic descriptions are dutiful and diligent. However, gentrification and what it constitutes; rooting out the character and hominess of the culturally significant, usually stem from economic issues in the pre-gentrified neighborhoods, low incomes and high renter to owner

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.

Yet, gentrification is so difficult to track and explain. There is no definite reason for the causes and there are many potential studies that need to be conducted before any conclusions can be made. Gentrification is the result of a general trend of middle and high desiring to move from the suburbs and into the vibrant city. “It seeks to transform the historic neighbourhoods in an opportunity for the market, in the context of the growth of financial real estate and touristic sectors” (Díaz-Parra, I.,2015). So not only is gentrification inclined by the increase in demand of middle and high class people within cities, but also by the large profit margins that can be made by developers. Although, the hardships for deprived households is extremely harsh. Tenants within gentrifying areas suffer as their undervalued housing is loss for very low compensation, they are forced out of their communities, away from their jobs, friends, and resources that were once valuable to them. The issue lies in the difference between the rich and the poor. The gap in wealth makes this type of corruption so accessible and common. The poor, deprived households continue to lack power within society and simply have to watch as their life is changed when they are forced to

In recent year’s residents in and around places like New York City and the Bay Area found themselves being unable to continue living in these areas due to the rising costs and value of their homes and apartments. This rise in value can be attributed to the desire of more affluent individuals wanting to live in these areas and willing to pay more to do so. Along with these residents came additional commercial development to match the lifestyle choices of the wealthier newcomers in the area. The influx of more affluent inhabitants in conjunction with upscale commercial development caused the value of residencies in the area to increase resulting in previous resident either moving away or being evicted should they be unable to afford their rising