In America a big problem being presented to the lower class community, comes in the form of gentrification. This often times occurs in places with a high colored or poor population. Initially I had no idea what gentrification was and presented the question “what is gentrification? And why is it perceived negatively?”. Gentrification often occurs in New York City, which has some of the highest rates of gentrification in the US.
My first source entry is an article produced by National Geographic, focusing on gentrification in America. The title of this article is “Gentrification” and it focuses on anthropology, sociology, and U.S history. The article was directed by Tyson Brown and National geographic, along with many other production managers and program specialists. It was released by the producer Clint Parks on October 24th 2019.
The article starts by discussing that gentrification is when wealthy and well educated individuals move into “poor and working class” communities, usually containing an abundant amount of colored people. Oftentimes there is a tension between the ones who gentrify and the original inhabitants, as they may have conflicting goals and ideas in reference to the community. Gentrification can be hard for both sides. On one hand the original residents’ previous way of living is at stake, while on the other it can be hard for the aforementioned gentrifiers to adjust to this new way of living. As a neighborhood gentrifies, the opportunities that it provides economically increases. Thus causing it to be more desirable and sought after by other rich and wealthy individuals. There is still a debate going on about whether gentrification is good or bad. In the article it states “There is even some research that suggests that black, working-class families tend to stay in gentrified neighborhoods rather than leave them, and that the economic benefits of gentrification do indeed reach all residents.”
After reading this text a lot of my previous questions I had going into this were answered. I fully agree with a lot of the information that was given in the text, it helped to answer my aforementioned questions. In the article it states “Rising costs of living and a changing community culture can make for a difficult adjustment for longtime residents. These changes may drive out people of color and minority-owned businesses. At the same time, gentrification brings much needed investment into long-neglected areas.” This quote helped to answer a question I had previously dwelled on which was “Why are people against gentrification”. I believe that the text also did well in the fact that it not only answered my questions, but it also answered questions I had not yet thought of. One example of this is in the text it gives a background description on when gentrification originated, being after world war II.
My second source entry is an article entitled “15 gentrifying neighborhoods in New York City”. This article was written by Jean Folder and utilizes statistics and numbers to reflect the effects of gentrification in NYC. It was published and released on the website “Investopedia: by Jean Foldger, wh has 15 years of experience as a financial writer covering real estate and other topics.
This article begins by explaining what gentrification is, which as we know now is when wealthy individuals move into poor communities (that are usually predominantly full of people of color). She then further pushes that notion by explaining that this can have an effect on said communities culture, people, and overall way of living. This can have negative impacts such as increased rent and property values. The text states “A recent report from the NYU Furman Center analyzed gentrification within New York City’s sub-boroughs. It defines “gentrifying” neighborhoods as those that were comparatively low-income in 1990 (in the bottom 40% of the city), but that have experienced higher-than-median neighborhood rent growth in the following two decades.” Indicating that increased rent has had negative effects on individuals who resided in said communities before gentrification. This can lead to many having to move out of their homes, and even neighborhoods because they now can not financially provide for their previous way of living. Foldger further goes on to state that Manhattan and Brooklyn have the highest rates of gentrification out of the 5 boroughs, followed by The Bronx and Queens.
One thing that article helped to do specifically was provide numbers and statistics to support the information that was given to me in my previous source entry. For example Foldger states that in Mott Haven/Hunts point there was a “Percent Change in Average Rent Between 1990 and 2010-2014’ which was “23.5%”. This information supports the aforementioned fact that gentrification negatively impacts poor communities in New York because it increases rent, which makes it all the more harder for New Yorkers to provide and live. Another instance in which these statistics helped was in the text where it stated that the average rent in Central Harlem had increased 53.2% from 2010 to 2014. This shows us that not only are the prices negatively affecting those who aren’t rich but that it is often occurring in places that contain a large colored community, such as Harlem.
My third source entry is a New York Times video entitled “Why he’s holding out in East Harlem, despite the gentrification”. This video documentary was produced by Yousur Al-Hlou and Ben Laffin, and was released by Times Documentaries on may 21st, 2018. This video addresses the first person account of Ray Tirado (a Latino New Yorker) and his experience with gentrification, and how it has negatively impacted him.
The video begins with the narrator stating that East Harlem is one of the most affordable neighborhoods in one of the most expensive cities. He then goes on to say however that this is changing. In 2015 new owners of Ray Torodo’s apartment complex voiced a plan to tear down the building and build a new one on top of it, with much higher rent. Due to this Ray is the last person in his entire building, the last hold out. Despite all this the landlords refuse to wait for him to leave, and have already started demolishing the building around him. The documentary then turns to following Ray around the city, and documenting just how much gentrification has affected the neighborhood. In the video Ray passes a building and states “This here on the corner was at one time a grocery store where I used to buy my sandwiches, and then it turned into a pizzeria place where I could buy a pizza. Now it’s a hipster spot where it’s so expensive that um, even happy hour is not a happy hour”. This shows how gentrification negatively affects the community, as it not only leads to increased prices but it also ruins the community and familiarity that has been established there. As the documentary continues it documents Ray going to court to battle against losing his home, he states “I’ve been living in my apartment for over 50 years, the only solvent thing that i know is my home”. Continuing to show that gentrification has a horrible impact on the poor minorities living in NYC. The documentary ends with him losing the battle, and inevitably losing his home.
To conclude, gentrification is a frequent occurrence in the US, especially in NYC. It is perceived as negative as it not only removes individuals from their homes but it also makes it difficult for previous residents to live in their neighborhoods. Although arguments can be made in its favor, it is undeniable that it has had horrible effects on people and their families. It not only disrupts their lives financially, but also culturally as it effects their previous way of living they’ve grown accustomed to.
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