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Why would one assume that minorities are the only people being adversely affected by gentrification?
They weren't in my gentrified neighborhood in Portland OR. I have lived in this neighborhood for around 25 years. When I first moved into it there were renters and home owners. A majority of renters consisted of senior citizens on fixed incomes. Home owners either lived in their houses or rented them out to lower income white people. There was a small Asian population. The majority of the residents in the area were white.
The neighborhood had all the amenities you would want. It was close to downtown, had good bus service and close by shopping. It also had a drug problem and petty crime problem along with a skin head enclave. Still, it wasn't entirely unsafe and it was very inexpensive which is why I chose to live here in my 30's.
As time went by, the crime part was cleared up. The neighborhood suddenly became "hot." Realtors moved in and flipped houses. Renters saw their rents soar at $100 a pop. This was all possible because Portland never had any laws or ordinances to protect tenants either from rent increases increments as some cities do or even building standards. So the old folks were forced out very quickly. Other renters soon could not afford their rentals as well.
Someone here asked how gentrification can affect home owners as they can stay in their homes while housing values go up. But it doesn't always work that way. As house values go up, so do property taxes and they are high in this city. People often could no longer afford to live in their homes and pay the taxes. Those who sold early made a nice profit. Many who stayed, had to sell when they no longer could afford the taxes had no choice but to sell at what they could get.
So people were forced out, like it or not and it had everything to do with money and nothing to do with being in a minority other than being a group that didn't have the money to stay. In fact if you want to talk minorities, as an example, there are African American people living in this neighbor today for the first time because those who have chosen to live here like it and can afford it. Anyone can because the color of money trumps the color of skin.
Neighborhood associations get together to try to get something more reasonable to be done like affordable housing which is so desperately needed in our city only to find there are limited and flimsy housing laws still on or not in existence and it is a profiteer's market.
Realtors and builders come to these meetings and literally laugh at the residents because they know they will win. When the behemoth buildings with expensive rentals are proposed to be built and smaller homes, vintage houses or buildings torn down to make way for them, the people have no say as to what goes into their neighborhood or what is destroyed. This is gentrification at its worst. City council representatives just shake their heads.
Besides the affordability of many neighborhoods being destroyed, families are not encouraged to move here because these tiny apartments not large enough for them. Houses in the city are very expensive either rental or purchase. So, how to solve the problem? Get involved anywhere you live this may be happening. Try to convince your city councilmen that for every expensive housing project, there needs to be affordable housing for those who need a place to live.
Someone here asked how gentrification can affect home owners as they can stay in their homes while housing values go up. But it doesn't always work that way. As house values go up, so do property taxes and they are high in this city. People often could no longer afford to live in their homes and pay the taxes. Those who sold early made a nice profit. Many who stayed, had to sell when they no longer could afford the taxes had no choice but to sell at what they could get.
In much of the country people fear renewal because it triggers property tax increases.
Thankfully in California... what your neighbor does will NOT affect your property tax.
Property taxes are governed by Prop 13 and many people voted for Prop 13 specifically to prevent double digit tax increases from driving people from their homes of decades.
Plus... many large metro areas of California have strict rent control to protect renters from Gentrification.
On Nassau County, Long Island (NY), [I think] property taxes are based off of home values decades ago rather than current ones. Ends up being rather regressive, as wealthier neighborhoods have seen higher home price increases than less wealthy ones, especially minority ones.
No offense, I' am not one to buy that line of thinking. Yes, some people do have less options than I do. It is true that no one can change the world by themselves alone but one person can make a difference. Another way to put it is that yes I will not going to be able to end poverty all by myself but if I can help a few immigrants learn English or help a few ex-cons to get their GED's so they get decent jobs and stay out of the system, then I'll be happy because I did everything I can do.
You don't have to buy into my line of thinking. I would much rather give some of my disposable income to the 2,100,000 Syrian refugees or the homeless here than to families in the U.S. who have it 100 times better.
Learning English or getting a GED has nothing to do with gentrification. Gentrification is not a cause of poverty or homelessness unless someone didn't make time to house/apartment shop for the latter.
In my case after graduating college and getting my first professional job I still had to move 1500 miles to find "affordable housing." Better to do that than bellyache that I couldn't find inexpensive housing in Northern Virginia. This is a big country and there is still a lot of cheap land and housing.
And enough about this "losing culture" nonsense already. The newcomers bring their own culture which isn't any better or worse than the one it is replacing.
You don't have to buy into my line of thinking. I would much rather give some of my disposable income to the 2,100,000 Syrian refugees or the homeless here than to families in the U.S. who have it 100 times better.
Learning English or getting a GED has nothing to do with gentrification. Gentrification is not a cause of poverty or homelessness unless someone didn't make time to house/apartment shop for the latter.
In my case after graduating college and getting my first professional job I still had to move 1500 miles to find "affordable housing." Better to do that than bellyache that I couldn't find inexpensive housing in Northern Virginia. This is a big country and there is still a lot of cheap land and housing.
And enough about this "losing culture" nonsense already. The newcomers bring their own culture which isn't any better or worse than the one it is replacing.
While I agree that one culture isn't inherently better than another, I disagree that replacing a unique local culture with a mainstream culture isn't undesirable. I feel the same way about regional accents; I don't want everyone to sound like they are from Indiana, when they talk.
While I agree that one culture isn't inherently better than another, I disagree that replacing a unique local culture with a mainstream culture isn't undesirable. I feel the same way about regional accents; I don't want everyone to sound like they are from Indiana, when they talk.
How do you define "mainstream culture?" So it is better to have a neighborhood full of Wiccans over one full of WASPs?
Sorry if you haven't noticed but the USA as a whole has gotten more homogenized as regionalism (along with accents) has started to disappear. This is what happens when people move to a new city every X years for better jobs, to be near family, change of lifestyle, etc. Do you want to put limits on personal mobility with reference to neighborhood boundaries based on ethnicity? What about half breeds like me? Do we have our own designated hoods?
How do you define "mainstream culture?" So it is better to have a neighborhood full of Wiccans over one full of WASPs?
Sorry if you haven't noticed but the USA as a whole has gotten more homogenized as regionalism (along with accents) has started to disappear. This is what happens when people move to a new city every X years for better jobs, to be near family, change of lifestyle, etc. Do you want to put limits on personal mobility with reference to neighborhood boundaries based on ethnicity? What about half breeds like me? Do we have our own designated hoods?
Yes all silly questions based on a silly premise.
I don't think I ever mentioned race in my original post.
They weren't in my gentrified neighborhood in Portland OR. I have lived in this neighborhood for around 25 years. When I first moved into it there were renters and home owners. A majority of renters consisted of senior citizens on fixed incomes. Home owners either lived in their houses or rented them out to lower income white people. There was a small Asian population. The majority of the residents in the area were white.
The neighborhood had all the amenities you would want. It was close to downtown, had good bus service and close by shopping. It also had a drug problem and petty crime problem along with a skin head enclave. Still, it wasn't entirely unsafe and it was very inexpensive which is why I chose to live here in my 30's.
As time went by, the crime part was cleared up. The neighborhood suddenly became "hot." Realtors moved in and flipped houses. Renters saw their rents soar at $100 a pop. This was all possible because Portland never had any laws or ordinances to protect tenants either from rent increases increments as some cities do or even building standards. So the old folks were forced out very quickly. Other renters soon could not afford their rentals as well.
Someone here asked how gentrification can affect home owners as they can stay in their homes while housing values go up. But it doesn't always work that way. As house values go up, so do property taxes and they are high in this city. People often could no longer afford to live in their homes and pay the taxes. Those who sold early made a nice profit. Many who stayed, had to sell when they no longer could afford the taxes had no choice but to sell at what they could get.
So people were forced out, like it or not and it had everything to do with money and nothing to do with being in a minority other than being a group that didn't have the money to stay. In fact if you want to talk minorities, as an example, there are African American people living in this neighbor today for the first time because those who have chosen to live here like it and can afford it. Anyone can because the color of money trumps the color of skin.
Neighborhood associations get together to try to get something more reasonable to be done like affordable housing which is so desperately needed in our city only to find there are limited and flimsy housing laws still on or not in existence and it is a profiteer's market.
Realtors and builders come to these meetings and literally laugh at the residents because they know they will win. When the behemoth buildings with expensive rentals are proposed to be built and smaller homes, vintage houses or buildings torn down to make way for them, the people have no say as to what goes into their neighborhood or what is destroyed. This is gentrification at its worst. City council representatives just shake their heads.
Besides the affordability of many neighborhoods being destroyed, families are not encouraged to move here because these tiny apartments not large enough for them. Houses in the city are very expensive either rental or purchase. So, how to solve the problem? Get involved anywhere you live this may be happening. Try to convince your city councilmen that for every expensive housing project, there needs to be affordable housing for those who need a place to live.
Actually in Portland Neighborhood Associations are some of the toughest to deal with and they can easily delay or cancel just about any project if they want to. Going to architecture school in Portland I remember hearing a number of stories from architecture firms that had to deal with neighborhood associations to get things built, and it is much better to work with the neighborhood than it is against them if you want to get something built. The recent failed Trader Joes on MLK is a great example of that.
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