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The only city that I've really seen following this trend is Jersey City. It seems other cities like Trenton, Newark, and Camden aren't following the trends of cities like Philadelphia and New York where people are getting priced out at rapid rates and you see massive shifts in demographics. Why is that?
Because they are smaller cities in the shadow of world class cities like New York and Philadelphia.
They don't draw people to them because there is a much better city 25 miles away. Pittsburgh and Newark are roughly the same size. Yet Pittsburgh has a lot more to offer because it serves as the principal city for an entire region.
The only city that I've really seen following this trend is Jersey City. It seems other cities like Trenton, Newark, and Camden aren't following the trends of cities like Philadelphia and New York where people are getting priced out at rapid rates and you see massive shifts in demographics. Why is that?
You used a key phrase there. "Priced out." When people are "priced out" of New York City and Philadelphia, take a wild guess at some of the places they end up... Gentrification doesn't solve the problem of inner city poverty and crime, it just moves it somewhere else.
They don't draw people to them because there is a much better city 25 miles away. Pittsburgh and Newark are roughly the same size. Yet Pittsburgh has a lot more to offer because it serves as the principal city for an entire region.
Bingo.
New Jersey cities are not regional hubs, even compared to smaller cities in New York or Connecticut, virtually all of NJ is encompassed in larger metro areas. In South Jersey, things are hindered by Philadelphia. Despite the OP's comment, gentrification is proceeding slowly in Philadelphia...there are still many neighborhoods that have yet to get pricey, indeed the nicest parts of the city are still cheaper than the poorer areas of New York or DC. As long as hipsters can still find cheap housing in Point Breeze, Fishtown, or Passyunk, no one will move into Camden or Trenton.
As for North Jersey, the OP is being a bit unfair. Jersey City is gentrifying, Hoboken is pretty much gentrified. The rest of the Gold Coast varies, but I don't think anything along the Hudson is completely slummy anymore. Then you have Newark which admittedly has its problems. Even there though, you have stability in the Iron Bound and Forrest Hill. Also, just across the river Harrison and Kearny are getting nicer all the time. I don't things are as encouraging in Paterson or Elizabeth, but I'm less familiar with those areas.
Also, it's important to point out that while NJ's big cities are not gentrifying quickly, its towns are. Look at New Brunswick, Red Bank, Morristown, Summit, Montclair, Westfield, Princeton, or Lambertville. All of those places have wealthy downtown areas...some have poor areas too, just like any city. The above list doesn't even mention smaller towns, South Orange, Maplewood, Boonton, Madison, Chatham, etc. that are all wealthy and have seen development. Also a lot of towns along the Raritan Valley line. There's also the suburban-sprawl areas like the Route 1 corridor near Plainsboro where you see a lot of high-end development going on.
Two final points:
NJ has been quite decentralized through much of its history with a lot of small and medium sized towns and cities rather than one dominant hub, so it's a bit unfair to compare its cities with places like Pittsburgh.
NJ cities are geographically very small; their borders encompass the downtown areas and a few surrounding residential neighborhoods. Check out the wiki page for US cities and sort by population densities, NJ cities are at the top because of how their borders are drawn. NJ cities never got caught up in the annexation craze. Imagine if Newark had annexed all of Essex County like Philadelphia. We'd be talking about gentrifying neighborhoods of Newark like South Orange or Montclair. Or if Jersey City consolidated the entire Gold Coast.
Cities in North Jersey like Newark, Hoboken, and Jersey City have done a much better job at implementing gentrification than South Jersey cities like Camden, Atlantic City, and Vineland.
Cities in North Jersey like Newark, Hoboken, and Jersey City have done a much better job at implementing gentrification than South Jersey cities like Camden, Atlantic City, and Vineland.
You're right about Hoboken and Jersey City but I haven't witnessed much gentrification in Newark. There has been some revitalization but I wouldn't compare it to what's been happening in Jersey City or Hoboken.
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