Gentrification
Gentrification is the process of renovation and improvement of whole communities, towns, and even cities that conforms to a middle class lifestyle or as Mumm (2008) "upscale redevelopment threatens to displace established residents..." It is something that not only occurs in the small neighborhoods of California like Echo Park and Atwater but it occurs around the world; for example in Prenzlaur Berg in Berlin Germany. Gentrification usually occurs in neighborhoods or areas that are rundown and are transformed to becoming more urban and hip. A way in which this occurs is by in influx of more affluent residents or new businesses such as coffee shops or clothing stores pop up which attract a wealthier kind of people. Gentrification is a controversial topic because it brings with it both positive and negative impacts to the community and people that are involved. Some negative effects that gentrification brings along is the displacement of local workers who are commonly of low socioeconomic status. Another problem is that gentrification, due to it attracting a more affluent population to an area that normally serves low income families, is that the cost of living goes up and unprecedented rates. When this occurs, it forces out the people and families who originally lived in that community. However, despite the negative effects gentrification has, a positive effect that gentrification brings along is lower crime rates. Population migration, as I touched on a little can be both a good and bad thing.
Gentrification is relevant because it is something that has been happening a lot recently. We hear about all these new restaurants popping up in random little towns and suddenly there are more and are followed by coffee shops and stores, etc. Recently, more than before gentrification is something that has been expanding and thriving. Once a town is gentrified, we never hear about it going back to the way it was, it simply changes and becomes more urban.
I live in an area known as Echo Park. It is a community between Down Town Los Angeles and Hollywood; with neighboring towns of Frogtown, Elysian Valley, Atwater and Silver Lake. A very long time ago, this used to be a dangerous neighborhood where there were gangs. Echo Park was a 100% hispanic community. It is honestly a little difficult to recall what it was like before gentrification occurred because once the "hipsters" started moving in, the change happened quickly. For example, when I was younger there used to be a lot of gangs that we did not feel safe walking to the store or going to the park late at night. Now, I go out on night walks around my neighborhood all the time, sometimes even until 1 in the morning. Safety and a decrease of criminal activity is a good thing that gentrification has brought to Echo Park. However, I do feel a sense of detachment from my culture. Like i previously mentioned, Echo Park used to be all hispanic and now it is a mixture of hispanic and caucasian. I used to go to the park when I was younger and there would be Spanish music playing and families would throw their children's parties at the park; they'd have pinatas. At every corner of the community, you could find the paletero man (ice cream man) or the elote man (corn guy); you could count on the raspado (shaved ice) guy to be at the park but today it is very hard to find any of them around. There used to be a lot of small businesses owned by hispanics and family run. I remember going into the family owned 99 cent store and the owner was at the cashier and they knew my name, they knew everybody because it was a close knit community of latinos. Where that little 99 cent store used to be has now been replaced by a thrift store, a cuban bakery has now been replaced by a hipster coffee shop. There used to be a tortilla shop owned by a single Mexican mother and her two daughters used to help her out; it is not longer there, they closed down and went out of business. Gentrification has definitely changed my home not only geographically but I can no longer enjoy the simple things I used to when I was younger.
The people who are being affected the most would be the people who pay rent in the area and small mom and pop businesses. My family immigrated here from Mexico. My father has lived here, in Echo Park for 30 years. My uncle used to live in this building right across from my apartment that was for people with low socioeconomic status. He no longer lives there; the building is now a bougie building of lofts and an art studio/gallery in the basement.
Some of my family was forced out by the increase of rent due to gentrification but other have managed to stay but fear moving. For example, my father has lived in the same apartment for 30 years and because of that, his rent remains relatively low compared to all the surrounding apartments and lofts. He has thought about moving but is afraid to because he knows if he were to leave the apartment he is in now, he could never find something slightly better for an affordable and fair price; everything now accommodates the middle class.
This is important to me because although I do like and appreciate some of the aspects gentrification has brought along, I do still want to feel like the home and community I grew up in. Echo Park is losing its essence with the brutal force of gentrification. As stated by Combs (2015), gentrification is not meant to be a negative thing, it is meant to improve neighborhoods but at what costs? You cant interrupt a happy home and build and expect people to be okay with that.
Combs, J. L. (2015). Using Jane Jacobs and Henry George to Tame Gentrification. American Journal of Economics and Sociology.
Mumm, J. (2008). Report from the Field: Redoing Chicago: Gentrification, Race, and Intimate Segregation. North American Dialogue, 11(1), 16-19. doi:10.1111/j.1556-4819.2008.00007.x
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