Gentrification

Gentrification

When people think of gentrification they think of it simply as neighborhood revitalization or making improvements to houses. However, gentrification is much more complicated. According to Sutton, the term “gentrification” really refers to "the processes by which people of higher income or status relocate to or invest in low-income urban neighborhoods”. Higher income people come to these uninvested neighborhoods to capitalize on the low property values. However, this inflates property value, displaces low-income residents, and completely alter the cultures and way of life of the neighborhoods.

Difference Between Revitalization and Gentrification?

Revitalization can take two forms: incumbent upgrading and gentrification. 

• Incumbent upgrading is when residents of the neighborhoods improve the condition of their neighborhoods. This improves housing, attracts businesses and makes the neighborhood safe and clean. When incumbent upgrading occurs, the neighborhood still remains affordable for low-income people. 

• Gentrification, on the other hand, draws middle or upper-class residents to the city. They are attracted by job and opportunities, low housing prices, stabilization of negative social conditions such as crime, and perhaps the desire to a new lifestyle. 

The adverse result of gentrification is displacement, however, displacement is not present in incumbent upgrading. 

Now, what are the Causes of Gentrification?

According to Vo, gentrification occurs when there is a lot of public transportation available for people to use. Transits such as train, bus, and etc. provide an alternative to car thereby reducing transportation cost costs for residents. Another cause of gentrification is schools and education. The quality of schools and universities is a key determinant for the property value. Popular schools can accelerate the gentrification process by bringing money into neighborhoods by providing housing and other resources for students, faculty, and staff. Take for example, during 2018, the University of Southern California, one of the most prestigious universities in the west, spend over 700 million dollars building the USC Village. The completion of USC Village transformed the surrounding neighborhoods with new buildings such as dorms to house over 2,500 students as well as a Trader Joe’s, Target, Starbucks and over 20 other well-known businesses.

USC is located less than five miles from Los Angeles, one of the most gentrified areas in the U.S.

According to Carter, from 2000 to 2016, Los Angeles has seen:

• An increase in property values by 707 percent
• An increase in median household income by 95 percent
• An increase in people holding a bachelor or higher degrees by 857 percent

The Result of Gentrification?

The most adverse effect of gentrification is displacement.

According to a recent comprehensive review of gentrification completed by researchers at UC Berkeley and UCLA, displacement occurs “ when occurs when any household is forced to move from its residence by conditions which affect the dwelling or immediate surroundings, and which:

• are beyond the household’s reasonable ability to control or prevent
• occur despite the household’s having met all previously-imposed conditions of occupancy; and
• make continued occupancy by that household impossible, hazardous or unaffordable.”

The most common form of displacement is direct displacement. Take for example you’ve been living in a neighborhood for 4 years and paying 1,200 dollars a month but all of a sudden your landlord increases your rent to 2,400 dollars. When faced with this dramatic increase in rent most people would have no choice but to leave. That is direct displacement.

Why is Gentrification Relevant to me?

I choose this issue because I want to spread awareness of gentrification and help people understand what gentrification actually is. Surprisingly, not a lot of people are aware of what the word gentrification actually means. I also wanted to take this opportunity to inform myself about gentrification such as the causes and the effects. This issue has affected thousands of families not just in Los Angeles but all across other cities as well. Rent is constantly rising year after year and it has affected many people I know. I have seen it affect my uncle’s family who had to move away from Los Angeles because they could not keep up with the rising rent. Even in my city of El Monte, I have seen signs of gentrification occurring with the influx of Chinese population in a city predominantly Hispanic. I hope that everyone will have a better understanding of gentrification after reading this blog.

Community Opinions

"Although I never experienced gentrification first hand, I know it's making it difficult for people who live in the area to stay there as the cost of housing goes up. It is definitely an issue that cities need to resolve"

- Kevin G.

“I've been aware of gentrification and have known people who had to leave the state for another because of the cost of living. I also knew people who had to share a house/apartment because of the inflation on house/rent prices. I believe that there's not much a person can do about it and to just go with the flow.”

- Ricard L.

Works Cited

Carter, Shawn M. “This LA Neighborhood Is the Most Gentrified in the US.” CNBC, CNBC, 6

Mar. 2018,

www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/la-and-the-other-top-10-most-gentrified-zip-codes-in-the-us

html.

Sutton, Stacey. “3 Common Myths About Gentrification – And the Facts That Prove We Need to

Stop It.” Everyday Feminism, 2 Oct. 2015,

everydayfeminism.com/2015/10/truth-about-gentrification/.

Vo, Kelly. “University Neighborhood Gentrification Statistics.” MetroMBA, MetroMBA, 14

Aug. 2018, www.metromba.com/2018/08/university-gentrification-statistics/.

Zuk, Miriam, et al. “Gentrification, Displacement and the Role of Public Investment: A

Literature Review.” Community Development Investment Center , University of

California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, Aug. 2015, www.frbsf.org/community-development/files/wp2015-05.pdf.

Vaccinate Yo Kids!

 What are Vaccines?

 Vaccines are combinations of biological substances used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provides protection against several diseases. The first vaccines were created in the early 18th century by Edward Jenner. Jenner was able to create a successful vaccination that fought against smallpox. Jenner was able to do this by taking bacteria from a blister that an infected individual with cowpox had and inoculating it into another person's skin. There are so much negatives narratives regarding vaccines, and unfortunately, most people listen to the bad more than the good narratives. According to Bruine de Bruin, author of  Effects of Anti- Versus Pro-Vaccine Narratives on Responses by Recipients Varying in Numeracy claimed: "It has been proposed that anti-treatment narratives will be more influential on decision making than pro-treatment narratives because they can seem relatively more informative.) 

How have vaccines helped society?

Three reasons on how it's improved our society's overall health according to vaccines.org

1)  Vaccines have been proven to actually work and most importantly it's safe- When vaccines are given to children young, they're able to develop what they need to fight diseases. The overall process of vaccines may cause some discomfort when injecting the substance into your skin but the pain is minimal. It's really rare when one has an allergic reaction to a vaccine. Eun Hee Chung who's focused her research on primarily vaccines allergies stated that "Vaccines, specifically individual components of the vaccine, are known to, although rarely, cause serious complications.

2) Immunizations promote a healthy life for children-  Fortunately, children's health can be protected more. There are many diseases that have been proved to be deadly to children. One example is Polio. Vaccines were the only medical procedure that was successful in preventing polio among children. Fortunately, because of vaccinations, there are no reports of polio in the United States. 

3) Vaccinations protect others-  Diseases like whooping cough and measles have decreased due to people getting vaccinations. When a majority of the population is vaccinated, it keeps certain diseases under control. However, there are certain people who cannot get vaccinated because of weak immune systems, or they might be allergic, other people who are vaccinated can help prevent diseases being accessible to those who can't get vaccinated. By being fully vaccinated, you're able to protect your loved ones and others.

Data Proves that Vaccines are important for our health 

i

The chart displays research done one year's olds overtime.  Vaccinations on babies have increased dramatically, however for a very long time, we've been stuck at the 70-80 percent mark. In order to have diseases under control, we must increase vaccinations among the population to at least 90%.

What does my community have to say about Vaccines?

(Sarahi Salcedo, BA in Child and Adolescent Students) 

Sarahi Salcedo strongly believes that everyone should get vaccinated. She states, "We're exposed to a lot of new bacteria and diseases every day, being vaccinated may prevent us from being affected or Spreading it to other people." She thinks that the reason why the death toll number of people dying of diseases were so high. People in the past died due to diseases being spread to one another. 

(Luis Gonzalez, B.A. in Liberal Studies) 

Luis Gonzalez believes that all parents should vaccinate their children in order to promote a disease-free future for them. Children are at high risk of getting diseases, and unfortunately, a lot of these diseases are potentially deadly. He continues to say that during childhood, a child's body is always developing and diseases can disrupt the developmental process; A child's body won't reach full development until after they become adults.

(Michelle Casarez, B.A. in Environmental Systems)

Michelle Casarez claims that there are a lot of celebrities who are promoting people not to vaccinate their children and they're sending the wrong message. One known celebrity to be anti-vaccine is famous tattoo artist and make-up guru, Kat Von D. Michelle believes that Kat Von D should not be using her platform of over a million followers to be promoting anti-vaccine rants. 

(Mike Reyes, Sophomore at Leuzinger High School)

If children dont get vaccinated, they're putting people who have weaker immune systems at risk. Some peoples body's cant handle vaccinations and are more susceptible to becoming sick, so those who can should feel privileged and take care of themselves and others by getting vaccinated. By not getting vaccinated, people are just bringing rise again to diseases that could've been prevented altogether

Why is this issue important to me and my community?

I made my decision to vaccinate my child because I felt it would be the best option to protect him from deadly diseases. Unfortunately, his immune system is not the strongest. He's often getting sick easily compared to other children. In order to protect him and others, vaccinations help keep all the deadly bacteria away from reaching.

Citations

Bruine de Bruin, W., Wallin, A., Parker, A. M., Strough, J., & Hanmer, J. (2017). Effects of Anti-       Versus Pro-Vaccine Narratives on Responses by Recipients Varying in Numeracy: A Cross-sectional

Survey-Based Experiment. Medical Decision Making, 37(8), 860–870. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272989X17704858

Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.vaccines.gov/getting/for_parents/five_reasons