Gentrification in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
It is insane to think residents
have few choices and have to result to paying higher percentages of their income for a
place to live. According to the CHPC, a non-profit that promotes affordable housing, says from 200-2012 the rent shot up by nearly 25 percent in Los Angeles County.
“We are losing ground rapidly
against a chronic problem that forces households to cut essential spending,”
Eric Belsky, Managing Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at
Harvard said in a statement. Paying more for rent means
residents don’t have much money left to spend on other things, which hurts the
overall economy. People say gentrification, which is the process of renovation of an urban neighborhood, may be the reason for incredibly high rent and it is the issue I will be addressing in my civic engagement project.
The big question is, is gentrification ruining Los Angeles or saving it? It has become a controversial issue in my community and it seems people are being influenced to pick a side. The pros and cons are:
The big question is, is gentrification ruining Los Angeles or saving it? It has become a controversial issue in my community and it seems people are being influenced to pick a side. The pros and cons are:
The Good
Crime rates drop
Gentrification improves the
economy
Finer living
Downtown la is safer
Desegregation
The Bad
It is a form of oppression
It is classist
Hypocritical
It is an endless useless cycle
A lot more people end up unhappy
Clashes and violence will only
increase
Personal
I was born in the city of Los Angeles, as the third child
to two immigrant parents from Mexico. I
grew up in a low-income community with a long history of Hispanic-majority
population. I spent my entire childhood
living in the inner-city neighborhood of Boyle Heights. The culture is rich and the community holds
an immense amount of pride in tradition.
I love the community I grew up in and I cherish all of the memories made
there. In recent years, the renovation
of my childhood neighborhood began because of an influx of more affluent
residents. Property values have
increased, displacing lower-income families and small businesses who have been
there for generations.
Gentrification of the inner cities
of Los Angeles directly affects me because it is unfairly displacing families
from my community. People of my
community are being stripped of their home and culture in a short amount of
time because of the increased interest in the area. In a capitalistic society, it is
understandable for rent prices to rise but not by so much within a tiny period
of time. Rent control should be demanded
immediately in order to place a cap in the rise of rent prices and stop the
tragic displacement of thousands of families.
Low-income communities are not deteriorated urban neighborhoods, and
they should be improved gradually.
People Affected in my Community
Cinthia Campos Anthropology Student
California State University, Los Angeles
Cinthia Campos Anthropology Student
California State University, Los Angeles
It is not the people of Boyle Heights that have failed- it is the elected officials and the system that has failed the residents. I have been a lifelong resident of Boyle Heights, I have seen, heard, and lived through the negative effects of gentrification. Gentrification is a threat to myself, my family and my neighbors.
Gloria Gutierrez Urban Planning student
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
" I have the most badass mom
and everything I am today is because of this womyn right here. Today I was
telling her about the good comments I received from my professors about my
proposal for class project. I explained that my proposal was to create a sort
of street vending hub on one of the empty lots on Chavez Avenue where there
will be a community kitchen, commissary, etc. Pretty much building the physical
infrastructure that vendors will need once legalization happens. She hears me
out and then starts asking for details. Where will you get your funding for
this? What grants can you get to make sure the space is sustainable and
affordable for vendors? She went on saying she thinks it's a great idea but
wanted to know how I'm going to make it pencil out and if I thought of
expanding and building in other communities since street vending is a city wide
and not just on Chavez Avenue. I'm like whoah mom, chill. The assignment didn't
ask for all those specifics. They just asked for a concept. We immediately
started to crack up about her diving into it the way she did! Anyone who knows
my mom knows she is a womyn of few words but oh man when she speaks, you know
it's going to take the conversation to the next level. Grateful for being
raised by this badass muxer.
Ahrens, Mareike. ""Gentrify? No! Gentefy? Sí!": Urban Redevelopment and Ethnic Gentrification in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles." "Gentrify? No! Gentefy? Sí!": Urban Redevelopment and Ethnic Gentrification in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Aspeers, 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Mejia, Brittny. "Gentrification Pushes up against Boyle Heights — and Vice Versa." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Simpson, Isaac. "Is Gentrification Ruining Los Angeles, or Saving It? Pick a Side." Is Gentrification Ruining Los Angeles, or Fixing It? Pick a Side. LAWeekly, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Photographs are taken by me, Monica Briseno.
No comments:
Post a Comment