Can anyone stop Atlanta's rapid gentrification (Stone Mountain, Auburn: 2014, apartment complex, foreclosures)

[LovelySummer]

I think the idea is that gentrification mostly just displaces poor ppl and actually reduces the diversity possible. Oakhurst is an example. Grant Park is another example (post-80s and 90s gentrification stint). You may not realize this but gentrification is often something of a cycle. Move in and renovate and then make the property value of your home double. But then the property value of the poor neighbor's home also goes up next year. Neighbor cannot pay the new taxes. County takes the house and sell it to investors that renovate it and sell for high dollar. Poor people must leave bc they are losing their homes and csnnot afford the new apartments being built. The investors love gentrification and the ppl who can buy the homes lost for pennies on the dollar love gentrification. This phenom is going on all over the country. Move in - push up property value - entire neighborhood taxes increase - poor cannot pay so they lose home - new people with money move in and increase the property value- more poor ppl cannot pay taxes- they lose home (repeat cycle). Voila. East Atlanta. Old Fourth Ward.

Originally Posted by jsvh

The rise in income of an area is not a bad thing. It benefits the original residents.

I welcome the economically and racially diverse neighborhoods. Boo to those that would try to stop it.

[bu2]

Neighborhoods change or die.

Eventually almost all neighborhood's housing stock gets old and the neighborhood declines. The key is trying to stop a permanent decline.

[joey86]

I think any effort to maintain a certain racial demographic should be viewed as racist, since that's what it is. If residents of a white area in Bartow said that they didn't want black people moving in to change their traditionally white area, they would be derided as racist.

I went to a community meeting in Adair Park a couple years ago and there was a man who kept referring to "certain people" moving into the area. He was hostile. It was obvious he was talking about white people and it made me uncomfortable. It was racism, plain and simple. I've never treated a person like that. I have chewed out quite a few people with my skin color for being racist and I was happy when someone of his skin color did the same to him. Racism sucks.

[chuckshere]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

I think the idea is that gentrification mostly just displaces poor ppl and actually reduces the diversity possible. Oakhurst is an example. Grant Park is another example (post-80s and 90s gentrification stint). You may not realize this but gentrification is often something of a cycle. Move in and renovate and then make the property value of your home double. But then the property value of the poor neighbor's home also goes up next year. Neighbor cannot pay the new taxes. County takes the house and sell it to investors that renovate it and sell for high dollar. Poor people must leave bc they are losing their homes and csnnot afford the new apartments being built. The investors love gentrification and the ppl who can buy the homes lost for pennies on the dollar love gentrification. This phenom is going on all over the country. Move in - push up property value - entire neighborhood taxes increase - poor cannot pay so they lose home - new people with money move in and increase the property value- more poor ppl cannot pay taxes- they lose home (repeat cycle). Voila. East Atlanta. Old Fourth Ward.

The thing I don't understand about the scenario is why the poor person can't sell his or her home to a hipster for more dollars than they paid, if home prices are going up? If they can't it's probably because they were a victim of a predatory lender who had talked them into a re-fi that didn't make sense. Is there another reason?

[joey86]

Sometimes capitalism sucks, but it's still the best system. Donate funds or time to Habitat for Humanity if you want to help. Lend a hand. Make a meal. I found a homeless man sleeping in my front yard last year. I made him a meal, gently woke him to give it to him and told him he was welcome to sleep there for a couple nights. My point is that we should back up our beliefs with actions.

[LovelySummer]

That's what happens with some elderly that are on the verge of losing the house (they sell...for pennies on the dollar of what it is actually worth). In fact, the investors call them. Others actually want to keep their homes. They've lived there for decades. The home is paid off and they cannot qualify for a mortgage at this stage in life or don't want one or want to pass the house down. Then there are the families that need to be on the busline. Also, sell and go where and still be able to catch the bus to work?

And the reality is most regular joes are not moving in and doing the extensive rehab necessary so they don't want the house as-is. They want the investor flipped special. The investor would rather grab it in pre-foreclosure or foreclosure than pay the homeowner what it's worth. That's the whole point of investing..paying less than it's worth.

To stop the effects, the tax office would have to place a special exemption on the homes so that the value could only increase some small amount each year or freeze it for say 10 years. There are historical tax exemptions that work this way. Another option is requiring affordable housing (max income some percentage of AMI) to be built in an area if the developer wants to build market rate homes or renovate then sale at market rate. Nothing else will work.

Only problem is thd govt would have to be willing to give up tax revenue....
[B][/b]

Originally Posted by chuckshere

The thing I don't understand about the scenario is why the poor person can't sell his or her home to a hipster for more dollars than they paid, if home prices are going up? If they can't it's probably because they were a victim of a predatory lender who had talked them into a re-fi that didn't make sense. Is there another reason?

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by joey86

Sometimes capitalism sucks, but it's still the best system. Donate funds or time to Habitat for Humanity if you want to help. Lend a hand. Make a meal. I found a homeless man sleeping in my front yard last year. I made him a meal, gently woke him to give it to him and told him he was welcome to sleep there for a couple nights. My point is that we should back up our beliefs with actions.

There are actually a huge number of empirical research studies, both quantitative and qualitative, that prove that capitalism is actually not the best system. If all you are concerned with is making money, then for a select few people, capitalism is the best system. However, if you are concerned with equitable social policy, capitalism is no longer an effective system. Humanistic policy and economic policy needs a healthy balance, and gentrification is an example of one form of policy dominating the other. Atlanta, and this country, need to start developing more policies that balance humanistic and economic goals to negate the detrimental effects of capitalism on the cities poor and middle class residents, who at some point will all be gentrified out (for more info, please see Manhattan, NY).

[LovelySummer]

Enter Harlem. Yes, Harlem.

Originally Posted by CCATL

There are actually a huge number of empirical research studies, both quantitative and qualitative, that prove that capitalism is actually not the best system. If all you are concerned with is making money, then for a select few people, capitalism is the best system. However, if you are concerned with equitable social policy, capitalism is no longer an effective system. Humanistic policy and economic policy needs a healthy balance, and gentrification is an example of one form of policy dominating the other. Atlanta, and this country, need to start developing more policies that balance humanistic and economic goals to negate the detrimental effects of capitalism on the cities poor and middle class residents, who at some point will all be gentrified out (for more info, please see Manhattan, NY).

[joey86]

I love the idea of other systems, and I think that in the case of other nations they might work better, but I don't think America will change.

[Ant131531]

I guess you want thugs to hold the city hostage like they have for the last 4-5 decades. I for one would love to see a more safer, gentrified Atlanta because that means it will be denser, more walkable, more desirable, and increases it's standings among world cities.'

Atlanta's one of the those cities where gentrification does a whole lot better for it than it didn't. Cities like SF, NYC,London, Paris not so much because they already had the established urban fabric, walkability, and character. Atlanta really did not aside from a few select neighborhoods.

One thing I can't get through my mind is why Auburn is the way it is. Why isn't that street more prosperous...historically, it was Atlanta's famous African American street known for prosperity...now it's dilapidated, yet Chinatowns across the country thrive and are generally tourist hotspots. Why is it that Atlanta couldn't manage to keep up one street that represented Black success? IMO, it's actually a street with some of the most character in Atlanta and if gentrification can help turn it into a nice boulevard in Atlanta that tourists and locals actually would love to walk and take a stroll, then so be it. No reason that shouldn't be a massive commercial street leading up to the MLK areas.