Is West Humboldt Park gentrifying, bad or good area to invest? (Chicago: neighborhoods, college)

[JoeyPants]

Why do so many believe that in order for a neighborhood to improve it has to become gentrified? Is there no gray area, why must it be either a ghetto or yuppieville. What's wrong with it becoming stable middle class/ working class. There are a lot more working class folks then there are yuppies. The city should focus on bring back this demographic to the city instead of focusing solely on attracting the gentry.

[ajolotl]

I agree, but the city is a really tough sell for working /middle class families. The school situation is just too daunting and the solutions are too few. Move to one of more than two dozen suburbs and the problem more or less goes away. That has to be priority number one for any family.

"Fixing the schools" might have been implicit in your comment, but I don't see the will or any small signs of progress to think it's forthcoming.

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

Why do so many believe that in order for a neighborhood to improve it has to become gentrified? Is there no gray area, why must it be either a ghetto or yuppieville. What's wrong with it becoming stable middle class/ working class. There are a lot more working class folks then there are yuppies. The city should focus on bring back this demographic to the city instead of focusing solely on attracting the gentry.

[chet everett]

Over the past 30+ years the fastest transformations have been driven by "yuppies / gentrification". I am not at all sure that will continue to be the case going forward.

There is some evidence that the sort of "ever expanding horizon" of both new home builders and the kinds of business development firms that went along with that are going to be sick for a long time. That may be the impetus for their to be shifts toward VERY old fashioned land reuse drivers (like the kind that saw old saw mills of New England become the factories that made rifles and or fabric when things were retrofitted...). There are lots of good railroad connection and expressways access to Cicero so MAYBE instead of commercial space getting built further west some of that MIGHT get put into a Cicero...

If you think back to the "slow growth" phase that Bolingbrook fell into after its Old Chicago boom and subsequent bust the freight terminals aare warehouse space is really what took off out there. Now obviously not all the land in the industrial core of Cicero will suddenly turn, and there are some viable businesses that are part of that area, but MAYBE that is one pattern / possibility to watch for...

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

Why do so many believe that in order for a neighborhood to improve it has to become gentrified? Is there no gray area, why must it be either a ghetto or yuppieville. What's wrong with it becoming stable middle class/ working class. There are a lot more working class folks then there are yuppies. The city should focus on bring back this demographic to the city instead of focusing solely on attracting the gentry.

Well, I think it depends on the neighborhood being discussed. Some neighborhoods have that. I'd point out Beverly, Mt. Greenwood, and Jefferson Park. There are some others. There are good elementary schools in the City, and there's of course private, magnet and charter schools. But those are usually located in areas that have lower renter occupied rates and that have remained stable for a long period of time (i.e. they avoided "white flight").

In the case of Humbolt Park, it did experience substantial decline, and has a relatively high renter rate (64% versus about 15% for Mt. Greenwood and 20% for Beverly). Their most realistic shot is going to be the gentry, which will come if hipsters, artists, gays/lesbians, and other more adventurous souls first "pioneer" it. So that's the focus when discussing that particular neighborhood. As Chet points out, other factors we're not yet familiar with could come in and change them, but at this point in history, gentrification is the most common method by which such neighborhoods have changed.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Over the past 30+ years the fastest transformations have been driven by "yuppies / gentrification". I am not at all sure that will continue to be the case going forward.

Are you telling me there's not an infinite market for breakfast joints with cute names like "Toast" and "Muffin"? Holy Christ.

[meatpuff]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Are you telling me there's not an infinite market for breakfast joints with cute names like "Toast" and "Muffin"? Holy Christ.

One of my "favorites" is a dog boutique and grooming place called Doggy Style in Wicker Park.

[Humboldt1]

I will stick to hollywood for my breakfast food. ? the yuppie joints though stanleys has a decent brunch as does francescas.

[JoeyPants]

Originally Posted by BRU67

In the case of Humbolt Park, it did experience substantial decline, and has a relatively high renter rate (64% versus about 15% for Mt. Greenwood and 20% for Beverly). Their most realistic shot is going to be the gentry, which will come if hipsters, artists, gays/lesbians, and other more adventurous souls first "pioneer" it. So that's the focus when discussing that particular neighborhood. As Chet points out, other factors we're not yet familiar with could come in and change them, but at this point in history, gentrification is the most common method by which such neighborhoods have changed.

So if the pioneers are needed before the gentry arrives, why not target them. It seems like the focus is solely on the gentry, and not even these pioneers.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

So if the pioneers are needed before the gentry arrives, why not target them. It seems like the focus is solely on the gentry, and not even these pioneers.

I don't know, I think most posts on this at this point comprehend the whole standard gentrification model. Gritty area > Pioneers > hipsterfication of the local business community > wealthier gentry who start buying in to suck up the aura > displacement of the former residents and less wealthy pioneers to new areas > big profit to those who bought in early.

We didn't understand this 20 years ago but we do now. So now everyone wants the pioneers in their area.

[Holdencaulfield]

If not Humboldt Park, what gritty areas do you anticipate pioneers will be moving into in the near future? When you say pioneers, who are you referring to?