Preview

Gentrification In America

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
589 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gentrification In America
Gentrification has always be a controversial subject in which it particularly deals with pushing out the blacks, and moving in the whites. Although many people believe this is how gentrification works, it is actually much more complex. In modern America, gentrification is more of an inconspicuous act in which the lower class is pushed out, rather than just a specific race. Although the majority of the lower class happen to be African Americans and latinos, it is focused upon the removal of the lower class, and rise of the middle and upper class. Gentrification is a constant cycle throughout cities especially in New York, towns such as Williamsburg, have been severely gentrified by middle class and upper class New Yorkers. While gentrification …show more content…
Gentrification really is a wide-spreading issue that is occurring through out all America, better yet all over the world, but it especially in New York. The New Yorkers that are effected by gentrification are mainly lower-class Americans, and they are not benefiting from gentrification at all because gentrification deals with the rise of the middle and upperclass, and not of the lower-class New Yorkers. The issue with gentrification is that the people who are part of the lower-class tend to be the majority of the New York population, meaning that if gentrification continues it will lead to the complete depletion of the lower-class. Evidence of gentrification is seen in numerous amounts of sources such as, websites containing statistics, articles, news reports, and blogs. A particular article by Ric Curtis, “Crack, Cocaine and Heroin: Drug Eras in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 1960–2000” explains how drugs and crimes have evolved in the neighborhood of Williamsburg, and how the development of the crack markets occurred. Curtis’ research is particularly focused on the 60’s up until the year 2000, the reason for this is because “cocaine and the new crack markets”(58) subsided after the late 90’s because this is when gentrification began in Williamsburg. The gentrification in Williamsburg resulted in lower crime rates, and acts of violence. Because of the gentrification, “the crack business”(59) which was usually ran by Dominicans and Puerto Ricans declined immensely and this is because the majority of New York latinos are lower-class, therefore pushing out crack dealers with the lower-class. As the middle class continued to push out the lower-class, they were also pushing out the majority of the criminals that resided in Williamsburg because most of the deaths and crimes that occurred were caused by Puerto Rican and Dominican drug dealers who have a “long history

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I chose to do my project on gentrification because in it came up in multiple class discussions and thought it was an interesting topic. Many had strong opinions on this issue and how it affects the community they live in. Not only this, but this affects my friends who live in this area as well. The communities these people once knew are changing…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In fact, gentrification has become a major challenge for poor people since specific residential sectors in Toronto have started being renovated through the introduction of private capital and middle-class residents (Zuberi, 1995). As King (2016) states, Trinity Bellwood, the area where FYFB is located, shows the first signs of gentrification as the house prices have increased and various new stores have occupied the streets despite the fact that low-income people still live in the area. In fact, our supervisor ensured that FYFB has started receiving more people as these changes affect the cost of services and lease in their neighbourhoods, limiting the amount of money for food supplies and other goods, such as clothing. Thus, I understood the difficulties of living in a global city, where new tendencies, development, and implement of new technologies have boosted the cost of live, causing that low-income people struggle to cover their expenses and search for help to cover their…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “It’s a great neighborhood,” a testament to Clybourne Park said by former resident, Kevin Taylor. Kevin was a small man, about 5’8”, grey haired and with a black bowler hat. He wears navy blue slacks, a red button up-shirt with a blazer over it. He walks with a slump in his step as though something is wrong but he doesn’t quite know what. He hadn’t lived in Clybourne Park for five years, moving out in July of 2011, during a period many refer to as heavy gentrification. In 2016 Kevin came from Englewood Chicago, the location of his current home, back to Clybourne Park, to retrieve a box of personal items, he thinks were left at his old house. On his way he stopped by where a favorite place of his, a basketball court, used to be…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The class has broadened my thinking process quite a bit now since the beginning of class. The Oral presentation on gentrification in El barrio has changed my outlook on how communities in the united states are being manipulated to change because of the area they live in and how that area is in need of change but not for the betterment of the people that live in that community but for the investors and other people that are trying to move in to change the demographics of that community. These kind of communities are hurt the most because sometimes the property is valued more than the culture that is being asked to step aside.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lower East Side is one of the oldest and culturally rich neighborhood of New York City. In this neighborhood, the streets are decorated with unique boutiques, a thriving arts scene, and an overall bohemian energy all while being steps away from some of the major attractions that draw tourists to New York City in the first place. The Lower East Side didn’t always use to be like this, however. Over the decades, it has transformed itself from a lower working-class neighborhood into a trendy area with hip boutiques and a bustling arts scene. For some, this gentrification over time is a positive change for the neighborhood. For others, the gentrification has had a negative effect including loss of culture, businesses, and people. In the Lower East Side, Orchard Street Hotel, Extra Butter, and Round Two New York are local businesses that all show the effects of gentrification.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sidrah: I disagree with you. Gentrification cannot be blamed. Gentrification can bring about positive outcomes. For example, gentrification can bring in fresh fruits and vegetables to the neighborhood. Gentrification also created jobs for some people. More stores open up in the neighborhood which created more jobs for the people who live in the neighborhood according to the Spoiled NYC website.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the turn of the twentieth century, Jewish immigrants began inhabiting the Borough Park and Williamsburg neighborhoods. Pretty soon, the large Jewish families outgrew the small cottages that were built in the late 1800s by the former occupants. The…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ever since the 1960s, there has been an influx of high-income populations moving into urban areas from the suburbs. This phenomenon was coined ‘gentrification’ by sociologist Ruth Glass in 1964 to describe “the movement of upscale (mostly white) setters into rundown (mostly minority) neighborhoods” (Hampson). Proposition 555 has stated that in order to increase government funding and provide citizens a better life with a cleaner environment and safer community, the process of gentrification would require the destruction of some old and unsafe houses. Since then, this policy has received mixed reception from all walks of life. Protagonists, on one side, consider gentrification as the solution to current hard urban issues. Antagonists, on the other side, believe…

    • 1847 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    It can be easily said that not only social situation or white fight against public housing in Eastern area but also political involvement which help that situation to keep the side out of the minority people. Therefore, social, political and economical push factor actually help to segregate public housing and school in the Southwest Yonkers. Even, the housing developer also against the affordable housing projects in Yonkers. ''That is a pretty heavy absorption,'' said Howard P. Sturman, a real-estate developer from Mount Vernon who is about to build 600 condominiums on the Hudson River in Yonkers. So capitalism grasp humanity as well because we can see that case he not only opposed that but also mentioned Yonkers can't take that weight because it is lot to ask. Although most cases rich people would mind to spend money on real estate no matter where it would build. As we read in our class “ The Case for Reparations” where we have read that white people bought property in the poor neighborhood and rented out to the poor people and make profit out of it. Thus, Sturman would have less worried regarding to the affordable housing in…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Los Angeles in the 1900s was changing at a very rapid pace. African Americans from the South were migrating to the major cities of the North in search of opportunity. In the 1920s, the first wave of migration largely bypassed the city of Los Angeles. But starting in the 1940s, the second wave of migration caused Los Angeles’s population to skyrocket from 63,700 to 350,000 by the year 1960. This mass-migration caused many demographic problems in the new racially diverse city. The first sign of lingering segregation was that Blacks and Hispanics were still not allowed to buy real estate in certain areas of the city, even though it was illegal. This caused a completely uneven distribution of race across the city. Another factor in this problem was new house construction. Suburban house constructors like Davenport saw the opportunity for an increase in house sales in suburban areas, so they used unsettled land in cities like Compton to create a blue-collar paradise. The houses were of lower middle class quality and were great for African American workers who recently moved to the city. The third factor for the uneven distribution was a process known as blockbusting. Realtors would sell empty houses in white neighborhoods to black families, then convince the rest of the white neighborhood that the black community is infiltrating this area. All the white families would move out and the realtors would sell the newly empty…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to (Shapiro, 2004) “Once about 20 percent of the homeowners in a neighborhood are black, in two years, the entire neighborhoods will be black. This phenomenon occurs because of tactics like blockbusting, a method where real estate agents survey white homeowners in an area. After persuading them that the neighborhood is about to be infiltrated by a minority community the homeowners will leave the area. This is called white flight. Institutionalized discrimination exists within the actual housing system, including redlining and mortgage discrimination” (Shapiro, 2004).…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Divided We Stand

    • 1518 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Although people oftentimes believe segregation is synonymous with the Civil Rights movement, some people might be surprised to learn that racial residential segregation was not always the status quo. Prior to the turn of the 20th century, racially and economically diverse neighborhoods were the norm across the country. Urban “ghettoization” came about after the Great Migration of southern blacks to the North during industrialization. The influx of black residents coincided with the blossoming real estate industry nationwide, which used discriminatory practices to reshape the urban (and suburban) diorama. The rise of the modern real estate industry during industrialization and its discriminatory practices contributed to the inception of racial residential segregation in the United States.…

    • 1518 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Gentrification

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages

    By definition, Gentrification is the process of renewal having to do with bringing in middle-class people into areas with lower-class residents. Surely, having anyone move into a different neighborhood can have its effects; especially when those people bring intentions to uplift the neighborhood. New people, different demographics, new businesses, different communities are just some of the changes that take place. Many effects of gentrification result in more harm than good in the immediate future because there needs to be a better way to implement the necessary changes. Filip Stabrowski, author of “New Build Gentrification and the Everyday Displacement of Polish Immigrant Tenants in Greenpoint, Brooklyn,” worked as a tenant organizer and…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Big City Sociology

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Wealth and income can sometimes be correlated with ethnicity as well. In modern society, there is still racism. Anglo Americans are known to be paid better and have better position jobs than any other ethnicity, which can be a reason why they are more than capable to afford to reside in a more expensive neighborhood. In the TED talk, Majora Carter mentions that her project began when she realized how disadvantaged her neighborhood was. She recalls the South Bronx to be the home of waste facilities and food distribution centers along with power plants. All of that waste was being put there because the facilities had established there because the inhabitants of that part of the city needed those jobs. They did not established in the better parts because those living there would not be working there and the amount of money that they paid for their property meant that their neighborhood was going to be well taken care of by the city, which resembles residential segregation. White flight is another example of residential…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What drives gentrification? (2014). This article is based on a speech at a recent ISO forum in Brooklyn, New York addressing the roots of gentrification and it responded on how residents of big cities everywhere face the effects of gentrification, as long-time residents are pushed out of neighborhoods due to rising rents and housing costs and other changes. The author provided an objective analysis from the perspective of the working class of New York and of all other cities undergoing gentrification by examining what appears to be two contradictory outcomes of gentrification: the "improvement" of a neighborhood on the one hand and the displacement of its long-time residents on the other. Flores also analyzed the misconception between geographers David Levy whose theory explains gentrification as flowing from the consumer preferences of a new, youthful, white-collar middle class that wishes to change from a suburban to an urban lifestyle and Late Neil Smith counterposes Levy 's theory with a class perspective by contrasting the owners of capital intent on gentrifying and developing a neighborhood having a lot more "consumer’s choice" about which neighborhoods they want to devour, and the kind of housing and other facilities they produce for the rest of us to…

    • 1820 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays