Will Newark Ever See "Gentrification" (Jersey City, Elizabeth: construction, living)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I agree with those above advocating more public transit. Commuting up South Orange Avenue from Rutgers to my girlfriend's place in the Vailsburg area is a nightmare during rush hour. Not sure how feasible a subway line would be, but it would help that section of the city feel less isolated. Right now it seems like even if the downtown revitalizes, it's still difficult to access it unless you're coming from North Ward.
I would love to see more development at the 4 corners. Right now it seems like there's mostly "ghetto" businesses in that corridor. Hopefully as the Universities expand and development continues near the Arena, higher-end retail might be attracted to Market and Broad. I'm really looking forward to the completion of the Teacher's Village. A revitalized Halsey Street will make for a fairly nice stretch of development from NJIT all the way down to military park and the downtown area.
Having attended school at both Rutgers Newark and Temple University, I've gotten to see a bit of both Newark and Philadelphia. Despite its negative reputation, Newark seems to have fewer abandoned factories and not nearly as many decrepit blocks of pre-1920 rowhomes (much smaller city, I know). Amazingly, downtown Newark seems a bit cleaner than even some nice areas of Philadelphia. Of course Philly has 2 square miles of thriving downtown and hip, gentrifying bordering neighborhoods.
I'm torn on the idea of consolidation. It certainly offers the city benefits in taxes and services, but also changes the city's character (possibly a good thing in Newark). It's just odd being in some parts of Philadelphia, a city that annexed its whole county in the mid-nineteenth century. Areas of the Far Northeast are indistinguishable from post-war suburban sprawl, while upper Roxborough is rural. Neither "feels like" being in Philadelphia.
I agree with those above advocating more public transit. Commuting up South Orange Avenue from Rutgers to my girlfriend's place in the Vailsburg area is a nightmare during rush hour. Not sure how feasible a subway line would be, but it would help that section of the city feel less isolated. Right now it seems like even if the downtown revitalizes, it's still difficult to access it unless you're coming from North Ward.
I would love to see more development at the 4 corners. Right now it seems like there's mostly "ghetto" businesses in that corridor. Hopefully as the Universities expand and development continues near the Arena, higher-end retail might be attracted to Market and Broad. I'm really looking forward to the completion of the Teacher's Village. A revitalized Halsey Street will make for a fairly nice stretch of development from NJIT all the way down to military park and the downtown area.
Having attended school at both Rutgers Newark and Temple University, I've gotten to see a bit of both Newark and Philadelphia. Despite its negative reputation, Newark seems to have fewer abandoned factories and not nearly as many decrepit blocks of pre-1920 rowhomes (much smaller city, I know). Amazingly, downtown Newark seems a bit cleaner than even some nice areas of Philadelphia. Of course Philly has 2 square miles of thriving downtown and hip, gentrifying bordering neighborhoods.
I'm torn on the idea of consolidation. It certainly offers the city benefits in taxes and services, but also changes the city's character (possibly a good thing in Newark). It's just odd being in some parts of Philadelphia, a city that annexed its whole county in the mid-nineteenth century. Areas of the Far Northeast are indistinguishable from post-war suburban sprawl, while upper Roxborough is rural. Neither "feels like" being in Philadelphia.
Well in this case, most of the surrounding towns were already supposed to join Newark in the 19th century (Belleville, the Oranges etc)
Another thing that many ppl don't take into account is that unfortunately New Jersey has a stigma attached to it. This doesn't mean much to most ppl but to most Hipsters (the main gentrifiers) who can be obsessed with image/labels/status, this means a lot.
This. NJ will never be 'cool' to these types.
Also - there is very little good housing stock in Newark. The gentrification happening in Brooklyn et al was started by artists moving into brownstones that had fallen into disrepair. No such thing exists in Newark.
Also - there is very little good housing stock in Newark. The gentrification happening in Brooklyn et al was started by artists moving into brownstones that had fallen into disrepair. No such thing exists in Newark.
They do in the Downtown core , and just North of 280 at least 40 blocks of rowhouses and old housing...then there are the larger homes which attract gay people in Forest Hill and Weequahic.
Also - there is very little good housing stock in Newark. The gentrification happening in Brooklyn et al was started by artists moving into brownstones that had fallen into disrepair. No such thing exists in Newark.
I think the gentrification of Hoboken and parts of Jersey City shows that this is not the case.
They do in the Downtown core , and just North of 280 at least 40 blocks of rowhouses and old housing...then there are the larger homes which attract gay people in Forest Hill and Weequahic.
um, where? Like most of the rest of newark, it's detached multi-family houses clad with horridly painted aging aluminum siding. And while Forest Hill has some beautiful homes, that is a totally different type of housing from what attracts gentrification. No walkable commerce, groceries, restaurants, etc.
Newark has literally 1 street (James St) that fits the profile.
Quote:
Originally Posted by montycench
I think the gentrification of Hoboken and parts of Jersey City shows that this is not the case.
Huh? Hoboken & JC are loaded with tree-lined streets of brownstones and brick row houses.
Huh? Hoboken & JC are loaded with tree-lined streets of brownstones and brick row houses.
Well first of all, my comment was referring to what I highlighted from your comment. You said that NJ would never be considered cool to the type of people who would gentrify an area. Hoboken and Jersey City are in New Jersey and they became gentrified so that point is obviously not true. Second, you are right that Newark does not have a lot of brownstones but you don't need housing stock strictly made up of brownstones to appeal to people. In my post on the page before this I posted some links to residential projects in downtown Newark that consist of revitalized buildings in downtown. Are they brownstones? No but they are still architecturally significant and pleasing. Finally, you have a very small view of who can potentially gentrify an area. There are many demographics that you are leaving out. For example, I talked about the recent influx of college students in downtown Newark in an earlier post. They have just as much potential to revitalize an area as artists do.
Here is the thing, you can't prove that a city can never improve. To paraphrase Edison after failing time and time again to make a lightbulb, he said "I have not failed, I have simply found 100 ways not to make a lightbulb". Despite repeated attempts that did not work, that didn't make it impossible for the lightbulb to exist. What does this have to do with Newark? Well just because it has not revitalized yet doesn't mean it is impossible for that to happen. People all across the country are so sure that cities can never improve but they have been proven wrong time and time again. They have been proven wrong in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Jersey City, Hoboken, New Brunswick, and they will be proven wrong with Newark as well. All of the cities I mentioned are lightbulbs. Their revitalization was once thought to be impossible and there were many attempts to revitalize these cities that fell flat but eventually it worked. It's not a question of "if" with Newark it's only a question of "when".
Not going to happen until places closer to the city gentrify.
There is a huge swath of JC with much better NYC access that still has to go up, and then Harrison, and then Newark.
There is a pattern of PATH stops...Hoboken was first, then Newport, then (and currently) Grove...next will be JSQ and then Harrison and then and only then will be Newark.
And for a while it will only be the Ironbound and places close to to Newark Penn.
Jersey City is also going to overtake Newark population wise, if it hasn't yet, and much more focus will rightfully shift there as it's in a much better position for innumerable reasons to be NJ's main city.
Jersey City is also going to overtake Newark population wise, if it hasn't yet, and much more focus will rightfully shift there as it's in a much better position for innumerable reasons to be NJ's main city.
Name one reason why JC should be NJ's main city. There are so many disadvantages to JC with only one advantage, New York being a quick swim away
A lack of transportation, especially in low income areas has proven to be a problem in the past. At the height of urban renewal, one of the major problems was the fact that highways were cutting urban neighborhoods off from the rest of the city in order to favor suburban commuters. As a result, these neighborhoods had no access to any amenities they might need on a day to day basis (grocery stores, banks, job opportunities etc.). Since these were low income neighborhoods not many people could afford cars so without mass transportation many people were just stuck in a neighborhood that could not adequately sustain them. This was one of the factors that led to civil unrest and eventually the race riots.
Wow, talk about revisionist history. Yeah, it was I-280 which caused the Newark riots. ROTFL.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
