On Gentrification

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just finished reading a rather interesting article in The Atlantic magazine.  The article is basically a defense of gentrification, as we are seeing in neighborhoods such as Harlem and The South Bronx.  The writer of the piece believes that we have the narrative of this subject wrong, and that not as many people are displaced by gentrification as we may think.  This is according to studies that are highlighted in the piece.

This may ring true (at least to the writer of the piece) that neighborhoods that are seeing gentrification may see some progress.  However, when neighborhoods are left out of the planning to bring in people with higher incomes, understandably, controversy can ensue.  There are articles on http://welcome2thebronx.com/ that detail the borough's struggle with gentrifying neighborhoods.

While gentrification may make some neighborhoods get better, they also bring amenities that are fiscally out of reach to the poor residents.  And while I have read articles about upper class people appreciating the culture of neighborhoods like Harlem and The South Bronx, and saying that they are not trying to push anyone out, I don't see these folks really interacting with people who spent entire lives there.

I also see a bit of irony in gentrification.  Yes, I find it ironic that wealthy white people (and yes, most of them are white) suddenly want to live in neighborhoods filled with people of color.  After all, wasn't these same people rushing to get the hell away from us, by moving to more "racially homogeneous" parts of cities?  Or the suburbs?

I most certainly hope that upper class folks have good intentions when deciding to move into neighborhoods that others might have deemed too seedy before.  But now we have local media and real estate firms declaring that "Neighborhood X" could be the next Williamsburg, or SoHo.  While some may see this as a good thing, longtime residents have plenty of reason to worry.  Because with a change of people, comes a change of character, and possibly erasure, to a neighborhood.