The Gentrification Phenomenon

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Derek Hyra writes,

Gentrification, in some places, is associated with political and cultural displacement. Some gentrifying areas once dominated by low-income minorities demonstrate an association between the movement of upper-income people and a loss of minority political representation. Remember, it was presumed upper-income people moving to low-income neighborhoods would bolster civic society, and it appears, in some circumstances, it has. Often, however, newcomers take over political institutions and advocate for amenities and services that fit their definition of community improvement. This process of political displacement can be linked with cultural displacement, a change in the neighborhood norms, preferences, and service amenities.

You don’t think that those poor urban residents appreciate the new bike lanes?

Thanks to Timothy Taylor–I took a small excerpt from his interesting post. Read the whole thing.

As you know, I think of gentrification as driven by the shift toward the New Commanding Heights of health care and higher education. These sectors create jobs for the affluent in urban areas.

5 thoughts on “The Gentrification Phenomenon”

  1. There are more than a few urban university campuses that have been unsafe to stroll out of after dark for decades because surrounded by ungentrified areas. Those areas have only started gentrifying relatively recently, and I’d guess in a way uncorrelated with the increase in the number of lucrative jobs and the desire of those workers to live close to the office.

  2. Gentrification strikes me as white flight in reverse. In general, I find it hard to charitably reconcile the celebration of “indigenous peoples” with critiques of nativism. The implication is clearly that only some cultures and peoples are worth preserving (and growing), and conversely, only some cultures and peoples can be opposed to change. The tension can be explained along the oppressor/oppressed axis, but it makes the whole critique of displacement, appropriation, etc. (and colonialism, traditionalism) seem rather shallow.

    • I know some of homeowners in Oakland very happy with Gentrification and rented house for 4 days in the old ghetto during the summer. Why are concluding the old residents are different as well.

  3. Again, why is Gentrification bad here? Given that most people assume Compton or LA ghettos have improved based a lot on gentrification, then maybe we should promote this. (And we are weirdly getting nostalgic from even our terrible past. If people want to celebrate the Compton of old, they put on Straight Outta Compton movie.)

    In reality, most of this process is happening naturally and so why should we stop it.

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