Gentrification - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Gentrification

Jahi MackeySlide2

What is gentrification?

Gentrification is described as the process of affluent residents returning or moving to underinvested and/or poor communities, which results in more development and a flood of economic resources.

Though gentrification has been occurring since the 1970s

, it has occurred more rapidly in the 21

st

century Slide3

Pros of Gentrification

Gentrification reduced crime rates in areas due to redevelopment

Property values increase in a neighborhood, attracting the return of businesses and services for neighborhood residents as wealthier residents demand more services and retail offerings

Gentrification invigorates the creation of mixed income, diverse neighborhoods Slide4

Issues With Gentrification

Home prices and rent prices are increasing nationwide, but living wages are not

Gentrifiers typically have more socioeconomic capital than neighborhood natives, and policies in gentrifying neighborhoods benefit the gentrifiers more than the original natives

Affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce, and most of the housing being built in American cities is geared towards upper and middle income individualsSlide5

More Issues With Gentrification

Gentrification is resulting in the cultures of neighborhoods changing and history being erased from these neighborhoods

Gentrification is resulting in social and commercial polarization and homogenizationSlide6

How did we get there?

In order to understand gentrification from a racial justice standpoint, one must understand how it is connected to the history of American cities and it’s past and present challenges.

Gentrification’s positives and negatives are also connected to past policies that have neglected or of marginalized populations as well as to race and class identitiesSlide7

Industrialization and the Great Depression (late 19

th

century to 1930s)

Industrialization attracting immigrants from Europe, rural migrants and African Americans from the South via the Great Migration to Northeast and Midwest cities to escape segregation and violence and seek better opportunities.

However, overcrowding, racism and poor infrastructure made living conditions for many abysmal.

Despite local policy and activist efforts to improve infrastructure, the Great Depression exacerbates slum and insufficient housing Slide8

The Great Depression and World War II

(1930-1945)

The Federal Government introduces a nationwide public housing initiative via the Public Works Administration and Federal Housing Administration, creating what are known today as “the projects”

However, the Federal Government also institutionalizes racism through the policy of redlining, which keeps bars African Americans and other minorities from home ownership if they lived in a certain radiusSlide9

Post-World War II Suburbanization

The American economy was booming post-World War II for the first time since the 1920s and housing construction, greatly delayed by the Great Depression resumed immediately after World War II.

Large scale housing developments such as “Levittowns” were built outside of major U.S. cities and more people left the inner city for these developments

However, suburban neighborhoods often prohibited African Americans and other racial minorities from moving there even if they could afford to own a house thereSlide10

Interstate Highway Act of 1956

President Dwight Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway Act of 1956, resulted in massive highway construction projects across the continental United States

Concurrent with suburbanization, the interstate system drew people and income away from the urban core and to the suburbs, as businesses relocated there

Interstates also cut through many neighborhoods, specifically African American/ethnic minority ones, lowering property values and disrupting businessesSlide11

Cross Bronx Expressway. (2016). Retrieved March 22, 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Bronx_Expressway#/media/File:Cross_Bronx_Expressway_Map.svg

Interstate Highway Act ContinuedSlide12

White Flight and Race Riots (1960s-1970s)

White flight is a phrase given to the phenomenon of white people moving from inner-city neighborhoods to the suburbs as their original neighborhoods gained more and more residents of color

The late 1960s was very turbulent with the eruption of race riots after the assassination of MLK

Race riots pushed more businesses out of urban neighborhoods and to the suburbs, disadvantageous to ethnic minorities and the working poor living in the inner citySlide13

The 1970s-Early 1980s: The Decline of the City

Historians attribute the 1970s as being disastrous for American cities, with suburbs continuing to grow and inner city neighborhoods dilapidating and deprived of social service funding.

White flight, divestment, drug epidemics and crime resulted in a negative feedback cycle for inner city neighborhoods in major American cities in the Northeast and Midwest

In many cities, redevelopment strategies were implemented, but they resulted in tearing down homes and projects, displacing residents.

Cities in the South and on the West Coast grew, not experiencing these issues in the same way. Slide14

Towards Revitalization: Late 1970s-1980s

Recognizing the dismal state of American cities, the federal government invested more money in cities to reverse their misfortunes

The paradigm of neoliberalism is introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s which largely shifts governments local to national towards being profit generators

Cities used investment to pursue large scale projects such as stadium construction, convention centers, museums and riverfront redevelopment to gain more incomeSlide15

Back to the City: 1990s-present

Globalization peaks in the 1990s, shifting the structure of the global economy and requiring that major cities have a strong urban core to be economically competitive

Issues of urban sprawl, environmental issues and cultural shifts makes inner city living attractive for upper and middle class individuals resulting in increased gentrification effortsSlide16

Race and Gentrification

Revisiting the case of Alex Nieto in San Francisco and the historical marginalization of people in cities, is the rebirth of the city a rebirth for everyone?

The local government and legal system are often the frameworks through which gentrification is molded (ex. policing and ordinances limiting affordable housing in certain neighborhoods)

Gentrification is resulting in people of color feeling like outsiders in their own communities by newcomersSlide17

“Black Gentrification”

Middle and upper class African American residents with socioeconomic capital moving to working class neighborhoods

The intent is rooted in social justice, attempting to continue to redevelop and prolong the life of traditionally Black neighborhood

Many would argue that this gentrification is not driven by the same factors that gentrification usually is driven by

However, it is not guaranteed that middle and upper class Black gentrifiers will feel comfortable in these neighborhoods simply because they are BlackSlide18

Anti-Gentrification Efforts

There are community efforts to ensure affordable housing opportunities for residents and prevent evictions in many cities across the United States

Black gentrification may not be an anti-gentrification effort, but has been implemented in an effort to re-invest in Black communities and empower existing residents

Landmark and preservation societies are giving buildings with significant historical importance landmark status to preserve the history of changing neighborhoodsSlide19

Discussion Questions

What are some personal experiences that you have with gentrification (being a old resident, new resident, researcher, etc.)?

Is it possible for gentrification to be inclusive of current residents and their experiences/cultures without disenfranchising them?

What are ways that communities can be improved without the process of gentrification? Is gentrification inevitable?

If gentrification persists in its current form, what could be some of the consequences for communities of color?Slide20

Additional Links

The link below is related to the news article discussed during the presentation.

Death by gentrification: the killing that shamed San Francisco

The link to Right to the City is related to one organization that works for urban based social justice, with one of their initiatives being combatting the negative consequences of gentrification.

Right To The City Slide21

References

Ames, D. L. (2002). In McClelland L. F. (Ed.), Interpreting post-world war II suburban landscapes as historic resources National Parks Service.

Badger, E. (2015). Redlining: Still A thing. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/28/evidence-that-banks-still-deny-black-borrowers-just-as-they-did-50-years-ago/

Cauley

, K. (2015). I'm a black

gentrifier

, but my success is invisible. Retrieved from http://talkingpointsmemo.com/theslice/im-a-black-gentrifier-but-my-success-is-invisible-1-6-15

Cheney-Rice, Z. (2014). These 7 cities expose exactly what gentrification is doing to

america

. Retrieved from http://mic.com/articles/102004/these-7-cities-expose-exactly-what-gentrification-is-doing-to-america#.ZVwbf5QKl

Dawes, L. (2015). What it means to be A black

gentrifier

. Retrieved from https://medium.com/the-archipelago/what-it-means-to-be-a-black-gentrifier-f3ef15b2674c#.4d3809jak

Ehrenhalt

, A. (2016). The problem with the second phase of gentrification. Retrieved from http://www.governing.com/columns/assessments/gov-gentrification-second-phase.html

Eversley

, M. (2016, ). Protecting black history from gentrification. USA Today Slide22

References pt. 2

Florida, R. (2015). The complicated link between gentrification and displacement. Retrieved from http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/09/the-complicated-link-between-gentrification-and-displacement/404161/

Francis, D. R. How the 1960s' riots hurt

african-americans

. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/digest/sep04/w10243.html

Gebreyes

, R. (2015). Grappling with gentrification as A middle class black

american

. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/black-gentrification_n_6502104.html

Goetz, E. (2011). Gentrification in black and white: The racial impact of public housing demolition in

american

cities. Urban Studies, 48(8), 1581-1604. doi:10.1177/0042098010375323

Gotham, K. F. Urban development, past and present. Critical Perspectives on Urban Development, 6, 1-31.

Grabinsky

, J., & Butler, S. M. (2015, February 10, 2015). The anti-poverty case for “Smart” gentrification, part 1. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/social-mobility-memos/posts/2015/02/10-gentrification-poverty-mobility-butler

Great migration. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/great-migration Slide23

References pt. 3

The great society & urban riots. Retrieved from http://scholar.library.miami.edu/sixties/urbanRiots.php

Haltiwanger

, J. (2014). Gentrification in

america

: What actually happens when the rich move in and the poor are forced out. Retrieved from http://elitedaily.com/elite/gentrification-america-cities-poverty-inequality/697531/

Heltzer

, O., Medina, V. E., &

Overfelt

, D. (2006). Gentrification, displacement new urbanism: The next racial project.

Sociation

Today, 4(2), 1-21.

Historical shift from explicit to implicit policies affecting housing segregation in eastern

massachusetts

. Retrieved from http://www.bostonfairhousing.org/timeline/1934-1968-FHA-Redlining.html

History of suburbanization Maryland Roads.

Industrial revolution. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution Slide24

References pt. 4

Jackson, J. (2014). The consequences of gentrification for racial change in

washington

, DC. Housing Policy Debate, 25(2), 353-373. doi:10.1080/10511482.2014.921221

Kirkland, E. (2008). What's race got to do with it? looking for the racial dimensions of

gentrifícation

. The Western Journal of Black Studies, 32(2), 18-30.

Kohn, M. (2013). What is wrong

wtih

gentrification? Urban Research and Practice, 6(3), 297-310. doi:10.1080/17535069.2013.846006

McMahon, E. (

n.d.

). Comeback Kid: What Led to the Resurgence of America’s Big Cities. Retrieved March 23, 2016, from http://www.futureofbusinessandtech.com/news/comeback-kid-what-led-to-the-resurgence-of-americas-big-cities

Moore, K. S. (2013). Gentrification in black face?: The return of the black middle class to urban neighborhood. Urban Geography, 30(2), 118-142. doi:10.2747/0272-3638.30.2.118

Piere

-Louis, M. (2013). The case for black gentrification: Lessons from

brickton

,

philadelphia

. Retrieved from http://brooklynmovementcenter.org/case-black-gentrification-lessons-brickton-philadelphia/

Robinson, J.,

Bobeckzo

, L.,

Lusignan

, P., & Shrimpton, J. (1999). Public housing in the united states, 1933-1949; A historic context U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Wax, E. (2011). ‘Gentrification’ covers black and white middle-class home buyers in the district. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/gentrification-covers-black-and-white-middle-class-home-buyers-in-the-district/2011/07/28/gIQATZ7yfI_story.html