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.... *sigh* And here it is folks.......this thread and some of the posters in it have given a clear example of why locals and others RESENT gentrifiers.......rents skyrocketing due to economics? its not fair, but theres only so much to be said. But when people who knew NOTHING about the city outside of tourist areas 2-4 years ago suddenly show up with this elitist (and oftentimes racist) superiority and false authority attitude as to who can live in an area they still dont know JACK SQUAT about, not to mention their johnny come lately status......yea, this is where the anti gentrifier attiudes come from.
I think WB is just voicing what's already going on in the streets of DC. I promise you that if you go into any Black Beauty Salon, Church or Barbershop people are talking about it in one way or another. Go to the WAPO website and you'll see it in almost every comment section. I think C-D just has many more Gentrification cheerleaders then other websites but clearly that's changing.
WB is white. I'm well aware of attitudes from some local black folks though others, like I believe MDAllStar on here, are among the biggest champions of redevelopment. I'm somewhere in the middle and was simply explaining why so many threads on here were suddenly about gentrification.
It's not as simple as you make it seem, though, since it's an economic, not racial, issue. I see lots of new businesses filled with black folks. DC was losing population and U street was devastated for decades after the riots. Mayor Barry worked to stimulate redevelopment there with the Reeves Center, for example, and giving free space to Source and Studio theaters and the Metro stop was built, all in the 80s and 90s.
Where's the line between making a central neighborhood attractive and viable enough to fill up vacancies, reduce open air drug and prostitution markets, attract retail, and provide environmentally friendly lifestyles without shifting over to the negatives called gentrification? I mean, DC became the way it was because of de-gentrification decades ago. Is it possible to find a middle ground where average folks like me aren't priced out? I'd like to think so but I'm not sure there is.
The core issue is the fact there are those in DC who support gentrification, and what comes with it, which is lower violent crime rates, increased population growth, etc, and those who hate it because of the change in character and higher cost of living.
The reality is the hyperbolic language around genocide and slavery is not going to help one side, likewise stereotyping around welfare, etc. is not going to help the other. It makes either side seem irrational.
Likewise some elements such as historic flight, and redlining are important to the conversation and context. Because we are essentially seeing the end to flight, and a reversal, and it's direct result. This stuff is important in context and conversation, but so is IZ, and ways policies which can remediate some of the economic externalities of gentrification.
With that being said I support gentrification, but I am not denying my role as one of the gentry.
The core issue is the fact there are those in DC who support gentrification, and what comes with it, which is lower violent crime rates, increased population growth, etc, and those who hate it because of the change in character and higher cost of living.
The reality is the hyperbolic language around genocide and slavery is not going to help one side, likewise stereotyping around welfare, etc. is not going to help the other. It makes either side seem irrational.
Likewise some elements such as historic flight, and redlining are important to the conversation and context. Because we are essentially seeing the end to flight, and a reversal, and it's direct result. This stuff is important in context and conversation, but so is IZ, and ways policies which can remediate some of the economic externalities of gentrification.
With that being said I support gentrification, but I am not denying my role as one of the gentry.
WB is white. I'm well aware of attitudes from some local black folks though others, like I believe MDAllStar on here, are among the biggest champions of redevelopment. I'm somewhere in the middle and was simply explaining why so many threads on here were suddenly about gentrification.
It's not as simple as you make it seem, though, since it's an economic, not racial, issue. I see lots of new businesses filled with black folks. DC was losing population and U street was devastated for decades after the riots. Mayor Barry worked to stimulate redevelopment there with the Reeves Center, for example, and giving free space to Source and Studio theaters and the Metro stop was built, all in the 80s and 90s.
Where's the line between making a central neighborhood attractive and viable enough to fill up vacancies, reduce open air drug and prostitution markets, attract retail, and provide environmentally friendly lifestyles without shifting over to the negatives called gentrification? I mean, DC became the way it was because of de-gentrification decades ago. Is it possible to find a middle ground where average folks like me aren't priced out? I'd like to think so but I'm not sure there is.
I agree with most of what you said and I definitely believe that there is a middle ground. However, when cities like DC and now Detroit start to ask the private sector to invest in them the Devil is always in the details. Developers are about making money PERIOD. They do not care about Natives versus Newcomers. They don't care about neighborhood traditions or culture. Native Washingtonians have been sold out by greedy Black politicians that's the reality of it. If you truly want to make a change then it'll have to be at the ballot box.
We all know the gentrification discussions are usually way too simplistic to be meaningful. For example, when it comes to both race and class, no one mentions one of the -- if not THE -- major reason for gentrification: black folks are choosing to sell their homes for a fortune and move. They're not being forced out; they're cashing in and loving it. I'm in an "up and coming neighborhood" and half of the African-Americans on my block seem to be selling or considering selling, and they're thrilled!
The problem with the anti-gentrification types is that they have chosen to pretend this is about race exploitation, for whatever reason, and attack the white buyers when they should be focusing their wrath at the black sellers if they don't want to change. Even many (if not nearly all) of the black renters are being forced out because black landlords are selling.
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