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I think more people are against the negative aspects of gentrification rather than gentrification itself.
Right. There's a lot of unease about gentrification because it's unsettling from a financial and cultural standpoint for long-time residents who are averse to change under the best of circumstances. I belong to Skip Mason's Vanishing Black Atlanta Facebook group where you have Atlanta natives who freak out at every $500k house listing in the West End, installation of bike lanes and ground breaking for dog parks.
On the surface, all those things should be considered a positive thing to be happening, but the perception is these things are being done not for current residents but for what is likely to be a wealthier and whiter demographic moving into west side neighborhoods. Mind you, a lot of well-off Black families are contributing to the gentrification, but it hits differently for some people; especially when its in middle and upper-middle class neighborhoods down Cascade that contributed to Atlanta's mythic status as a Black Mecca.
Right. There's a lot of unease about gentrification because it's unsettling from a financial and cultural standpoint for long-time residents who are averse to change under the best of circumstances. I belong to Skip Mason's Vanishing Black Atlanta Facebook group where you have Atlanta natives who freak out at every $500k house listing in the West End, installation of bike lanes and ground breaking for dog parks.
On the surface, all those things should be considered a positive thing to be happening, but the perception is these things are being done not for current residents but for what is likely to be a wealthier and whiter demographic moving into west side neighborhoods. Mind you, a lot of well-off Black families are contributing to the gentrification, but it hits differently for some people; especially when its in middle and upper-middle class neighborhoods down Cascade that contributed to Atlanta's mythic status as a Black Mecca.
I'm in that same group, but I had to turn off the notifications because they posted so much.
I also notice that most of the people complaining left the city long ago. And when it was time to come back, most of them didn't because they thought it was still the hood.
Now for many of them, it might be too late...
I don't think they have to worry about gentrification as much with the old money neighborhoods further down Cascade because they never really significantly declined. The current gentrification hotspots are ironically in the most impoverished areas where Black people were trying to escape throughout the 80's and 90's.
Last edited by equinox63; 09-23-2021 at 10:47 AM..
Right. There's a lot of unease about gentrification because it's unsettling from a financial and cultural standpoint for long-time residents who are averse to change under the best of circumstances. I belong to Skip Mason's Vanishing Black Atlanta Facebook group where you have Atlanta natives who freak out at every $500k house listing in the West End, installation of bike lanes and ground breaking for dog parks.
On the surface, all those things should be considered a positive thing to be happening, but the perception is these things are being done not for current residents but for what is likely to be a wealthier and whiter demographic moving into west side neighborhoods. Mind you, a lot of well-off Black families are contributing to the gentrification, but it hits differently for some people; especially when its in middle and upper-middle class neighborhoods down Cascade that contributed to Atlanta's mythic status as a Black Mecca.
Latest Census provided us with some interesting information regarding future demographic trends of the city. This change has actually been happening since about 1999 or so just not at the current pace. Neighborhoods can and often do change and go through various lifecycle. One thing to consider is the city of Atlanta has a very aging black population many of which are simply dying or moving to be near family or put in a home etc. We went through this very same thing with my grandmother in NYC. It wasn't that 'white' people were being forced out it was that a significant percentage of the population in her area was aging and not being replaced by new people of the same race. I feel really bad for people who can't accept or don't want change because the next 10 year shift is likely going to be even more drastic than the last 10 years were in the city of Atlanta.
Latest Census provided us with some interesting information regarding future demographic trends of the city. This change has actually been happening since about 1999 or so just not at the current pace. Neighborhoods can and often do change and go through various lifecycle. One thing to consider is the city of Atlanta has a very aging black population many of which are simply dying or moving to be near family or put in a home etc. We went through this very same thing with my grandmother in NYC. It wasn't that 'white' people were being forced out it was that a significant percentage of the population in her area was aging and not being replaced by new people of the same race. I feel really bad for people who can't accept or don't want change because the next 10 year shift is likely going to be even more drastic than the last 10 years were in the city of Atlanta.
Yes, neighborhoods change and sometimes in drastic ways people aren't expecting to the extent that some believe there's some overall conspiracy at play. In some instances, yes, but over all, it's just capitalism doing its thing.
I lived for a moment in the neighborhood around Columbia University that straddles Morningside Heights and West Harlem, and I saw firsthand the changeover just by observing who showed up at the 125th St. subway station every morning to catch the A train downtown. When Neil Patrick Harris moved into the neighborhood, you knew it was done.
When a neighborhood that is at the heart of the culture of a group of people, you do have to acknowledge the loss, though, which seems to be lacking in the tone of some people when discussing the inevitable change. In New York, it's happened to Chinatown, Little Italy and Harlem (all of Manhattan, actually). And in Atlanta, it's happening in the Black neighborhoods like the West End, Westview, Adams Park, Capitol View, Grove Park and others. The gayborhoods of Midtown aren't quite the same streets RuPaul strutted down. Atlanta's dominance in pop culture and music was born out of these neighborhoods. Artists as opposite on the spectrum as Cardi B and Usher live in Sandy Springs, so maybe the suburbs can flip the script. I don't have much faith in the tech bros walking The Beltline to do it.
I keep telling people that if they thought 1996 was a dividing line between Old Atlanta and New Atlanta, you haven't seen anything, yet, now that Microsoft is going to bring 9,000+ tech jobs on the west side. To reference the original question of this thread, the current ITP boom is just a Rice Krispie snap, crackle and pop compared to the boom that's coming.
Last edited by cparker73; 09-23-2021 at 01:00 PM..
I'm in that same group, but I had to turn off the notifications because they posted so much.
I also notice that most of the people complaining left the city long ago. And when it was time to come back, most of them didn't because they thought it was still the hood.
Now for many of them, it might be too late...
I don't think they have to worry about gentrification as much with the old money neighborhoods further down Cascade because they never really significantly declined. The current gentrification hotspots are ironically in the most impoverished areas where Black people were trying to escape throughout the 80's and 90's.
That makes three of us in that group. Just one man’s opinion, but most of the native Atlantans complaining and blowing hot air in Skip Mason’s group are a large part of the problem. They, or their families were the ones that owned a lot of the properties in the various neighborhoods as they underwent their decline. A lot of them moved to the suburbs, and now want to cry foul that others are finding value in what they basically walked away from.
I don’t think gentrification is going to reach the neighborhoods further down Cascade, but for a different reason. Most of the neighborhoods that have undergone the most gentrification are the ones in the “bungalow belt”, the early automobile suburbs that were built prior to WW2, and most of the early Post WW2 suburban neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods were/are walkable neighborhoods with mixed used zoning, which has returned to popularity. Also those neighborhoods feature smaller homes on smaller lots. The larger ranch style and split level homes on 3/4 acre estate type lots don’t seem to be as popular among gentrifiers. Also, the gentrification movement tends to wane the further outside of the Beltline one goes. That being said, even the neighborhoods further down Cascade are still benefiting from the inflated real estate market!
That makes three of us in that group. Just one man’s opinion, but most of the native Atlantans complaining and blowing hot air in Skip Mason’s group are a large part of the problem. They, or their families were the ones that owned a lot of the properties in the various neighborhoods as they underwent their decline. A lot of them moved to the suburbs, and now want to cry foul that others are finding value in what they basically walked away from.
I don’t think gentrification is going to reach the neighborhoods further down Cascade, but for a different reason. Most of the neighborhoods that have undergone the most gentrification are the ones in the “bungalow belt”, the early automobile suburbs that were built prior to WW2, and most of the early Post WW2 suburban neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods were/are walkable neighborhoods with mixed used zoning, which has returned to popularity. Also those neighborhoods feature smaller homes on smaller lots. The larger ranch style and split level homes on 3/4 acre estate type lots don’t seem to be as popular among gentrifiers. Also, the gentrification movement tends to wane the further outside of the Beltline one goes. That being said, even the neighborhoods further down Cascade are still benefiting from the inflated real estate market!
I agree 100%. Even the part about where the most gentrification is taking place. The Beltline Neighborhoods pretty much encapsulate what you described — close-in 1920/30’s bungalows near small commercial districts, etc. It just so happens that the last “untouched” areas happens to be the English Ave., Vine City, Bankhead/Hollowell, Simpson/Boone corridor.
Even when gentrification was moving along the Beltline from the eastside to the westside, people thought it would never happen in those areas — yet, here we are. $500k+ homes on Bankhead and Simpson with new parks and potentially Microsoft on the way. Definitely an interesting time to live in Atlanta.
That makes three of us in that group. Just one man’s opinion, but most of the native Atlantans complaining and blowing hot air in Skip Mason’s group are a large part of the problem. They, or their families were the ones that owned a lot of the properties in the various neighborhoods as they underwent their decline. A lot of them moved to the suburbs, and now want to cry foul that others are finding value in what they basically walked away from.
I don’t think gentrification is going to reach the neighborhoods further down Cascade, but for a different reason. Most of the neighborhoods that have undergone the most gentrification are the ones in the “bungalow belt”, the early automobile suburbs that were built prior to WW2, and most of the early Post WW2 suburban neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods were/are walkable neighborhoods with mixed used zoning, which has returned to popularity. Also those neighborhoods feature smaller homes on smaller lots. The larger ranch style and split level homes on 3/4 acre estate type lots don’t seem to be as popular among gentrifiers. Also, the gentrification movement tends to wane the further outside of the Beltline one goes. That being said, even the neighborhoods further down Cascade are still benefiting from the inflated real estate market!
I don’t think that the type of housing it is will matter to “gentrifiers” at all—especially now that everything is essentially considered a tear-down. If the location works, and it is safe enough, nothing else matters (and I think you see a bit of the housing you are describing becoming gentrified-rejuvenated in Brookhaven, Chamblee, and unincorporated north Decatur/Tucker). And, really, while walkable is a nice bonus, it is as much as a buzzword as anything. Folks would love to build suburban McMansions on “3/4 acre estate type lots” in the city, and maybe even have a garage big enough for 3 or 4 cars!
That makes three of us in that group. Just one man’s opinion, but most of the native Atlantans complaining and blowing hot air in Skip Mason’s group are a large part of the problem. They, or their families were the ones that owned a lot of the properties in the various neighborhoods as they underwent their decline. A lot of them moved to the suburbs, and now want to cry foul that others are finding value in what they basically walked away from.
I don’t think gentrification is going to reach the neighborhoods further down Cascade, but for a different reason. Most of the neighborhoods that have undergone the most gentrification are the ones in the “bungalow belt”, the early automobile suburbs that were built prior to WW2, and most of the early Post WW2 suburban neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods were/are walkable neighborhoods with mixed used zoning, which has returned to popularity. Also those neighborhoods feature smaller homes on smaller lots. The larger ranch style and split level homes on 3/4 acre estate type lots don’t seem to be as popular among gentrifiers. Also, the gentrification movement tends to wane the further outside of the Beltline one goes. That being said, even the neighborhoods further down Cascade are still benefiting from the inflated real estate market!
Bungalow belt! That's a new one, and I like it.
When my family first moved here, we were obsessed with all the Craftsmans (old and new), but as the family's space needs grew and listing prices increased, we recalibrated our expectations. I love modern homes and remember the first issue of Dwell magazine I got in 2002 featured a modern house in East Atlanta with a butterfly roof, which was apparently a novelty at the time. Now, you can't go more than a couple of houses on the east side and Decatur without seeing a cheap, boxy modern that was designed by a "contractor" and not an architect that knows what they're doing.
As for Cascade, all the neighborhoods from Greenwood Cemetery to where mayors Keisha and Kasim live surrounded by John Weiland neighborhoods near Niskey Lake and the New Hope Road corridor are actually considered fully gentrified and approaching being exclusive according to a city map I saw. You're not going to see people on Skip Mason's page complain about people in those areas pushing out poor Black families.
Check out this $2.4M listing to see how crazy things are about to get in Cascade. There's no other house with that price tag or square footage anywhere on the south side of town, so I don't know what they're doing building a spec home like this unless they're trying to pump up the comps in the area.
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