An Observation
Many people love the refurbished looks of neighborhoods since it brings a sense of newness than the look of older structures.
Visible signs of decaying buildings will certainly invoke someone to want to change the outlook for the better. After all, many American buildings have long histories, and updated renovations are needed to maintain property values and upkeeps.
In the context of gentrification and what we know about it; the someone who eventually does extensive remodeling is an investor. Usually an outside person with a different agenda from the neighborhood people who are mainly working class, marginalized people.
Gentrification is not a phenomenon, but it shows who has sustainable income and who doesn’t have enough income. In many American cities, gentrification continues to dominate and saturate the real estate market and it works with the same dynamics of capitalism, race, and wealth as the past. Consequently, gentrification has always made housing into a bleak environment for marginalized black and brown people, while white Americans hold cushion opportunities, but it’s not getting any better.
Working, minority people have the same desires as their white counterparts to beautify their homes and neighborhoods, but disposable income can be the setback. Income disparities are still impacting different neighborhoods, and historically, white people have been able to acquire more equity than other groups. For marginalized people, historical economic failures keep them confined and restricted, while their salaries remain low.
An investor has an overhead due to aggregated wealth, but the investor usually markets to newer faces for their investments. Ultimately, the investor has no intent on improving the conditions for the current residents and instead a new market is formed.
If one ever wants to understand the depth of income inequality; then, the implementation of gentrification is the greatest example. It has storylines of race and money, and privileges.
Some signs of gentrification are:
- A saturated group of people begin to buy real estate in a certain community
- They stand out because the neighborhood has been known to house certain demographics
- Art, cafes, restaurants become high themes
- A newspaper is created with varying subjects but specific to the new group
- The gentrified group work with community members who are most malleable
In my city, I continue to witness many areas where Latinx and African-American live become newly-customized neighborhoods for white Americans. My own neighborhood is facing gentrification, but from two cultures. I am seeing a resurgence of white Americans moving back to my neighborhood since the “white flight” happened, and I am also seeing more Latinx people as well.
Near my neighborhood in Chicago is, Pilsen, a predominantly Mexican-American community for many generations, and it experienced gentrification. When it was in its nascent stage, I would read about the many art activities, which were taking place in the area. Beforehand, Pilsen was a place I knew where working class families lived, and I drove past the area on several occasions. That was all I knew about the zone.
A WTTW article says this about Pilsen:
Mexicans arrived in Pilsen en masse in the 1960s and ’70s, having been displaced by city-sponsored urban renewal initiatives that included the construction of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), just north of Pilsen. Soon after they arrived, long-time residents – mainly Polish, Czech, and other Eastern European immigrants and their descendants – fled. And so, Pilsen became the first majority Mexican neighborhood in Chicago.
Fast forward to the present moment, and a fight to save Pilsen is continuing by the native people. The same article on WTTW’s website stated this:
In recent decades, the demographic make-up of Pilsen has changed. More white and middle-class people have moved in, and the neighborhood has become more attractive to developers. Property values have increased, rents have gone up, and the number of low-income, Latino families has declined.
The neighborhoods of Austin, Lawndale(south), and Garfield Park(east), are the new places of gentrification. The three communities have a predominantly African-American population, but historically, other groups also have legacies in Austin, Lawndale, and Garfield. Germans, Italians, and Jewish immigrants all have footings in those communities. I know this because the areas have many Catholic churches and schools, and Lutheran churches and schools as well. While I don’t know of any synagogues in the neighborhood, I would come to learn about the past Jewish population in Lawndale from an elder. For example, Mount Sinai hospital in Lawndale was built to serve that group according to a 2019 article in the Chicago Tribune. African-Americans would become the dominant group after the “white flight” while a few European immigrants, who didn’t take part in the “white flight” movement are still there.
An article in Garfield Park Community Council newspaper in 2020 said this about gentrification in Garfield Park:
Development from the West Loop is pushing its way west into East Garfield Park. According to the Metropolitan Planning Council, home prices in the neighborhood have increased by 20% in 2018, making it the highest in Chicago. Since 2012, home values have also increased by 146%.
Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to hear Garfield Park residents say “east” or “west” Garfield when describing where they live. Even I found myself saying this in a meeting, and I had to ponder on why I leisurely described my address as “east Garfield Park.” I have periodic conversations with a gentleman from the Garfield area, who incessantly complains of the east and west definitions. According to the individual, these two categories are not known to native Garfield Park residents, but rather, it’s a relatively new description that accompanied the new waves of people.
For the first time in the twenty-five years I’ve lived in or near Austin; there is a store that sells soccer products. I’ve always known Austin to have black barbershops, urban apparel stores, corner stores owned mainly by Middle-Eastern people, lots of black churches, and soul food restaurants.
The new families are investing in nonprofits, and creating new nonprofits as well. They are also bringing co-op style groceries and food hubs, but the leaders of those ideas are white Americans. On many occasions, when I naively thought that African-Americans were the owners of community conglomerates; I would learn that white women dominated those roles. When it wasn’t the white female, of course, it was the white male. African-Americans were given jobs and became either peace ambassadors for non-violent programs, and target markets for career and educational programs.
Another avenue of the newcomers is meshing the “white savior” message to the area. This is working well since African-Americans have allowed religions to saturate their spaces while business ideas are at a bare minimum. In fact, the west side is saturated with different denominations and it seems to be the trajectory of many African-American families, who historically, have utilized the church to hide from the cruelty of white Americans. It’s also a lucrative business as well. A simple search of how much money black churches have received will unveil a healthy amount that explains why there are many Black pastors, reverends, bishops, etc. It is estimated that black churches rake in billions, but the data still needs more attention.
Finally, speeches and messages on “racial equity” and bringing in the “white savior” bible are proving to work nicely, but for the new faces. In the long run, maybe in five years, when the areas of Austin, Garfield Park, and Lawndale are fully gentrified, we will know who the ultimate benefactors are.
Articles:
https://interactive.wttw.com/my-neighborhood/pilsen/gentrification
changingalie.com 