Is gentrification or gentrifier a controversial term in Pittsburgh (Washington: transplants, apartment complexes)

[slavicamerican]

Sorry if this has been discussed already and I've forgotten or missed the discussion.

I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and now live in DC. I visit my family "back there" a few times each year, and I try to keep up on the city through various social media. Yet, I don't have a feel for how the city is managing or dealing with or reacting to gentrification.

In DC, by way of comparison, gentrification is a large and endless topic of discussion. DC went from being predominantly white in the 1950s to predominantly black in the 1960s to today, when the city seems to be shifting back again very quickly and the dismay of many in the African-American community. This dynamic - coupled with a bunch of other factors -- has resulted in gentrification being viewed very negatively by many African-Americans, in particular, who fear they are being priced out of a city roaring back to life. And because everyone in DC is cognizant of the sensitivity of race relations in a city that views itself as made up largely (and simply) as whites, blacks and Latinos, Washingtonians use "gentrifier" as code to mean white people and "long time resident" to mean black people. (Everyone sort of ignores Latinos in gentrification discussions.) It's a way to talk about race without being potentially racist, I guess. So in DC, EVERY discussion (property values, bike lanes, crime) gets viewed through the lens of black-white relations coded as gentrifiers versus long-time residents. To add to the complexity, although everyone understands that gentrifier is code for white and LTR code for black, we also know that it's really an issue of class, with the gentrifiers being middle and upper class (black and white) and the LTR being poor blacks. It makes for a never-ending series of passive-aggressive discussions.

So what's the deal in Pittsburgh? I know it doesn't have a large African-American population so I'm guessing it's not the same dynamic as DC. Does it ever boil down to class with older, working-class types concerned about being priced out of neighborhoods being gentrified by hipsters? Or is the housing stock so cheap and prevalent in Pittsburgh that everyone is happy to have new people moving in and raising their property values. Is there tension over gentrification at all?

I feel like I could write a book on the race/class-based gentrification dynamic in DC, but I don't have a feel for whether anything like this is going on in Pittsburgh.

Please enlighten me!

[Lost_In_Translation]

Anytime a place becomes more expensive for former locals, a place gets labeled gentrifying. Frankly it's just a mature city cycle. Eventually needs and lifestyles change and what was wealthy loses its shine and another place pops up. It sucks for the locals that don't want to move or don't have equity in the area to profit from, but dems da brakes.

[tyovan4]

Yes, it is an issue here. There is a strong fight for affordable housing within new development. Such fight is one of the hold-ups in getting the site of the former Civic Arena redeveloped.

There are race-related issues with gentrification in East Liberty particularly.

And although the greater Pittsburgh region is quite white, there is a significant African-American population within City of Pittsburgh limits (about 25% if I recall correctly).

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

Yes, it is an issue here. There is a strong fight for affordable housing within new development. Such fight is one of the hold-ups in getting the site of the former Civic Arena redeveloped.

There are race-related issues with gentrification in East Liberty particularly.

And although the greater Pittsburgh region is quite white, there is a significant African-American population within City of Pittsburgh limits (about 25% if I recall correctly).

It always boils down to wealthy/poor issues. And developers never like hurting profits to meet social objectives.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

It always boils down to wealthy/poor issues. And developers never like hurting profits to meet social objectives.

Not sure if you were trying to discount the race issue I raised or not.
I would argue there is a racial tone to the pushback against gentrification:
WCP: Black Homes Matter: The Fate of Affordable Housing in Pittsburgh

https://pgh-humanrightscity.wikispac...opment+(1).pdf

Black Homes Matter in East of Liberty | Three Rivers Community Foundation


Let's face it, there's nobody protesting against gentrification in Lawrenceville, Troy Hill, or Polish Hill... This is not solely a wealth/poverty issue.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

Not sure if you were trying to discount the race issue I raised or not.
I would argue there is a racial tone to the pushback against gentrification:
WCP: Black Homes Matter: The Fate of Affordable Housing in Pittsburgh

https://pgh-humanrightscity.wikispac...opment+(1).pdf

Black Homes Matter in East of Liberty | Three Rivers Community Foundation


Let's face it, there's nobody protesting against gentrification in Lawrenceville, Troy Hill, or Polish Hill... This is not solely a wealth/poverty issue.

Gentrification in those neighborhoods has been more organic than in East Liberty. Show me one case of a landlord evicting 200 families to make room for transplants. Lawrenceville, Polish Hill, and Troy Hill are mostly cases of old-timers selling their homes to younger, wealthier people. Simply put, you can't compare the gentrification of East liberty to the gentrification of any other Pittsburgh neighborhood. And that's without even going into the shady dealings of the ELDI.

[slavicamerican]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

Not sure if you were trying to discount the race issue I raised or not.
I would argue there is a racial tone to the pushback against gentrification:
WCP: Black Homes Matter: The Fate of Affordable Housing in Pittsburgh

https://pgh-humanrightscity.wikispac...opment+(1).pdf

Black Homes Matter in East of Liberty | Three Rivers Community Foundation


Let's face it, there's nobody protesting against gentrification in Lawrenceville, Troy Hill, or Polish Hill... This is not solely a wealth/poverty issue.

Your point about nobody protesting the gentrification of Lawrenceville, etc. is interesting. So the racial dimension isn't unique to DC. Now I'm wondering if, how and when it plays out when whites displace whites. Maybe wealthy whites don't move into poor white neighborhoods or the poor whites don't mind. Or, maybe because of redlining (when blacks were kept out of neighborhoods), blacks are simply more skeptical that gentrification is an economic dynamic rather than something targeting them for removal, which was done in DC for the building of 395 and Pittsburgh for the Civic Arena.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by slavicamerican

Your point about nobody protesting the gentrification of Lawrenceville, etc. is interesting. So the racial dimension isn't unique to DC. Now I'm wondering if, how and when it plays out when whites displace whites. Maybe wealthy whites don't move into poor white neighborhoods or the poor whites don't mind. Or, maybe because of redlining (when blacks were kept out of neighborhoods), blacks are simply more skeptical that gentrification is an economic dynamic rather than something targeting them for removal, which was done in DC for the building of 395 and Pittsburgh for the Civic Arena.

They literally evicted 200 households in East Liberty. It's different, dramatically different.

[slavicamerican]

Originally Posted by gladhands

They literally evicted 200 households in East Liberty. It's different, dramatically different.

Who is they?

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by gladhands

They literally evicted 200 households in East Liberty. It's different, dramatically different.

But Is it different due to race or due to the fact that East Liberty is the only one of those neighborhoods that ever had 200 unit low rent apartment complexes?