Saturday, October 11, 2003
The Ghetto and me, issue 1
A new little ghetto mart is opening up near the house. I call some of the little mom&pop hole in the wall stores ghetto marts because well, they are so ghetto. Add the prices of a 7-11, the selection of ... well not much of a selction, with a sprinkling of liquor store in some cases and you have part of the ghetto mart. The other part is in presentation. All the windows covered with posters for Kool cigarettes, malt liquor, beer, basically things that are bad for your health. Not one inch of window allows you to look in the store. They don't seem like friendly places to shop.
These places do provide a service. They sell milk and some basics and that's good when you're too lazy to walk to the Giant. Yet as a consumer, who when she isn't lazy has choices, I find these stores insulting. The cashier is behind plexiglass, the service is lacking, I feel that they really don't want me there.
A new little ghetto mart is opening up near the house. I call some of the little mom&pop hole in the wall stores ghetto marts because well, they are so ghetto. Add the prices of a 7-11, the selection of ... well not much of a selction, with a sprinkling of liquor store in some cases and you have part of the ghetto mart. The other part is in presentation. All the windows covered with posters for Kool cigarettes, malt liquor, beer, basically things that are bad for your health. Not one inch of window allows you to look in the store. They don't seem like friendly places to shop.
These places do provide a service. They sell milk and some basics and that's good when you're too lazy to walk to the Giant. Yet as a consumer, who when she isn't lazy has choices, I find these stores insulting. The cashier is behind plexiglass, the service is lacking, I feel that they really don't want me there.
Crazy Paint
I'm still thinking bold colors. Face it, it doesn't matter what I do to the back of the house. I could do polka dots, but I don't think it would look right. But I gotta match the fence.
Maybe I should just do the part that juts out. That I can do myself, sort of. Prime it and then throw on some funky color. Bright yellow and a dark blue door? Too Swedish. No red doors. Red doors are too common. I've seen some pretty cool purple doors. There is a super cool door on 8th street near Q street, but that is too .... expensive.
I've also thought, painting the individual bricks a different color to create a pattern. Maybe doing something with tile.
But I got to keep in mind nobody is really going to see the back of the house. Nobody except the neighbors and the crackheads who wander through the alley.
I may wait until I go to London and maybe get some ideas there. I like British, not the Victorian colonial type of British style, but modern British style. Maybe they incorporated the crazy African paint style.
I'm still thinking bold colors. Face it, it doesn't matter what I do to the back of the house. I could do polka dots, but I don't think it would look right. But I gotta match the fence.
Maybe I should just do the part that juts out. That I can do myself, sort of. Prime it and then throw on some funky color. Bright yellow and a dark blue door? Too Swedish. No red doors. Red doors are too common. I've seen some pretty cool purple doors. There is a super cool door on 8th street near Q street, but that is too .... expensive.
I've also thought, painting the individual bricks a different color to create a pattern. Maybe doing something with tile.
But I got to keep in mind nobody is really going to see the back of the house. Nobody except the neighbors and the crackheads who wander through the alley.
I may wait until I go to London and maybe get some ideas there. I like British, not the Victorian colonial type of British style, but modern British style. Maybe they incorporated the crazy African paint style.
Friday, October 10, 2003
You know you have problems when...
You know you have problems when you're looking at some low budget African film and you're getting design ideas from impoverished South African houses as seen in the movie.
Apparently Africans like strong bold colors. A dark navy blue with red pillars and a bright yellow door. Well crazy ideas have been coming into my head. I need to paint the rear of the house, as it is butt ugly. One, I would need to contact Popcorn who did a so-so job on the front of the house. Second, I'd have to buy a lot of paint. Third, I'd have to do it before it gets too cold to paint. I wonder if it is too cold now.
You know you have problems when you're looking at some low budget African film and you're getting design ideas from impoverished South African houses as seen in the movie.
Apparently Africans like strong bold colors. A dark navy blue with red pillars and a bright yellow door. Well crazy ideas have been coming into my head. I need to paint the rear of the house, as it is butt ugly. One, I would need to contact Popcorn who did a so-so job on the front of the house. Second, I'd have to buy a lot of paint. Third, I'd have to do it before it gets too cold to paint. I wonder if it is too cold now.
Crap on. Crap off. The Crapper
WARNING THIS IS REALLY GROSS. YOU MAY TOSS YOUR COOKIES.
Wednesday is take the dumpster to the curb day. When I took the dumpster from the back to the front I fugured I'd throw out the refuse that was up upon my fence.
Someone, an old guy. "Cleans" the alley every so often and tapes up "No Dumping" signs, that fall apart after the first rain. This cleaning is basically shifting whatever is in the alley up against the fences. So up against mine was a dirt encrusted sleeve, fallen leaves, concrete chunks, and some other stuff. All placed in the dumpster. One thing, which called for the rubber gloves was the pan. When Lem was putting in my fence he pointed out that someone had taken "a dump" near my fence. He pointed to a pan with some unknown brown/yellow liquid and debris in it. Lovely. Well I turned the pan over a few days after that and it was dry by Wednesday, ready for the dumpster, but still stinky. The alley had an odor. But at that time I thought it was a mixture of leftover stink from the pan and the puppy on the opposite side of the alley.
Yesterday, I'm out staining the back fence. When I move closer to the ground I smell something stinky. I blame the puppy. I take the dumpster thru the alley and back into the yard. Then I notice a pail in the alley. Same ugly colored liquid and refuse. I take a long pole, stand back, and dump it into the alley. Stink-E.
Great I knew the crack-heads urinated but leaving bowls and pails of their crap, oh-no!
WARNING THIS IS REALLY GROSS. YOU MAY TOSS YOUR COOKIES.
Wednesday is take the dumpster to the curb day. When I took the dumpster from the back to the front I fugured I'd throw out the refuse that was up upon my fence.
Someone, an old guy. "Cleans" the alley every so often and tapes up "No Dumping" signs, that fall apart after the first rain. This cleaning is basically shifting whatever is in the alley up against the fences. So up against mine was a dirt encrusted sleeve, fallen leaves, concrete chunks, and some other stuff. All placed in the dumpster. One thing, which called for the rubber gloves was the pan. When Lem was putting in my fence he pointed out that someone had taken "a dump" near my fence. He pointed to a pan with some unknown brown/yellow liquid and debris in it. Lovely. Well I turned the pan over a few days after that and it was dry by Wednesday, ready for the dumpster, but still stinky. The alley had an odor. But at that time I thought it was a mixture of leftover stink from the pan and the puppy on the opposite side of the alley.
Yesterday, I'm out staining the back fence. When I move closer to the ground I smell something stinky. I blame the puppy. I take the dumpster thru the alley and back into the yard. Then I notice a pail in the alley. Same ugly colored liquid and refuse. I take a long pole, stand back, and dump it into the alley. Stink-E.
Great I knew the crack-heads urinated but leaving bowls and pails of their crap, oh-no!
Thursday, October 09, 2003
History research and gentrification
Yes, we have gentrification on the brain.
Anywho. I'm doing some historical research on the neighborhood looking at housing and other demographic trends. Looking at the census, things I noticed from one census to another..... people move. There is a very good chance the people in a certain house won't be there in the next 10 years. I'm not in the same place I was 10 years ago. 10 years ago I was in a dorm in Massachusetts. Gawd I'm old.
Anyway, taking the fact that people move, especially renters and gentrification. If neighborhood desirablity was the only factor a demographic shift would occur anyways, regardless of rise in rents. If every time a low income person moved, they were always replaced by a middle income person one may say it's gentrification or something like it. Because over time as lower income folks move out and are not replaced by lower income people you'd have a great economic demographic change in say 10 years if the rate is say over 5%. Year one 100% Low income, Yr2 95%, Yr3 90%, Yr 5 80%, Yr 8 65%, in ten years there are only half of the low income people. Well, that's using my math, and my math isn't that good. Less than half may be there if the movement rate is taken just from the low income population. Possibly rates may change depending on the economy, unemployment in the area, lack of businesses and services, or what have you.
Yet even 10 years ago Shaw was not 100% low income. There were people who stuck through the riots and the crack years who were somewhere in the middle class sphere. Throw in high concentrations of middle class people in newly built condos, there is a major population shift right there.
Yes, we have gentrification on the brain.
Anywho. I'm doing some historical research on the neighborhood looking at housing and other demographic trends. Looking at the census, things I noticed from one census to another..... people move. There is a very good chance the people in a certain house won't be there in the next 10 years. I'm not in the same place I was 10 years ago. 10 years ago I was in a dorm in Massachusetts. Gawd I'm old.
Anyway, taking the fact that people move, especially renters and gentrification. If neighborhood desirablity was the only factor a demographic shift would occur anyways, regardless of rise in rents. If every time a low income person moved, they were always replaced by a middle income person one may say it's gentrification or something like it. Because over time as lower income folks move out and are not replaced by lower income people you'd have a great economic demographic change in say 10 years if the rate is say over 5%. Year one 100% Low income, Yr2 95%, Yr3 90%, Yr 5 80%, Yr 8 65%, in ten years there are only half of the low income people. Well, that's using my math, and my math isn't that good. Less than half may be there if the movement rate is taken just from the low income population. Possibly rates may change depending on the economy, unemployment in the area, lack of businesses and services, or what have you.
Yet even 10 years ago Shaw was not 100% low income. There were people who stuck through the riots and the crack years who were somewhere in the middle class sphere. Throw in high concentrations of middle class people in newly built condos, there is a major population shift right there.
Pretty sight
Young men jogging near the Howard/Shaw metro. That made my day.
Young men jogging near the Howard/Shaw metro. That made my day.
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Gentrification and Me issue 4
Am I on number 4 now?
PBS: POV Flag Wars: What is Gentrification
One site, just for definition of what I am talking about. The rest of the site in on the film Flag Wars, a battle for a neighborhood between two "historically oppressed groups" blacks and gays. In my own observations both groups can be downright unpleasant to the other, but luckily, not always.... at least not to the other's face.
Maybe later I'll do themes on gentrification: Gays and gentrification; Artists and gentrification; Buppie (Black yuppie) gentrification; Black flight and gentrification; Anti-gentrification groups; DC/Shaw and gentrification.
Someone, John, pointed out a talk that is going to be given at the City Museum October 15 at 6:30 on gentrification and the city. I predict there will be an angry discussion as the topic enflames passions. I plan to go but if it just turns into a yelling match at any point I'm leaving. If I want to see people yell, I'll go to a civic association meeting with the peanut gallery.
Am I on number 4 now?
PBS: POV Flag Wars: What is Gentrification
One site, just for definition of what I am talking about. The rest of the site in on the film Flag Wars, a battle for a neighborhood between two "historically oppressed groups" blacks and gays. In my own observations both groups can be downright unpleasant to the other, but luckily, not always.... at least not to the other's face.
Maybe later I'll do themes on gentrification: Gays and gentrification; Artists and gentrification; Buppie (Black yuppie) gentrification; Black flight and gentrification; Anti-gentrification groups; DC/Shaw and gentrification.
Someone, John, pointed out a talk that is going to be given at the City Museum October 15 at 6:30 on gentrification and the city. I predict there will be an angry discussion as the topic enflames passions. I plan to go but if it just turns into a yelling match at any point I'm leaving. If I want to see people yell, I'll go to a civic association meeting with the peanut gallery.
Truxton Fantasy #1
I ask my best friend Mikey a lot of stupid questions like, if you had $10 million dollars... and such. But today I asked myself a stupid question, if I had the power to change the character and nature of Truxton Cirlce (Eastern Shaw) what would I change it to?
Transportation
1. I'd make it way easy to catch a cab on New Jersey or Rhode Island, regardless of the hailer's color or destination. Cabbies are evil and at times hard to find.
2. I'd allow left handed turns on New York Avenue. Anyone who has gotten stuck on NY trying to turn left KNOWS what I'm talking about.
3. I'd put rumble strips on residential roads.
4. Mt. Sinai Baptist would build a parking garage, that residents can use M-F.
People/Residents
1. Diversity balance would be maintained. Meaning families, seniors, whites, blacks, latinos, asians, gays, straights, professionals, blue color workers, low income folks, college kids, teens, natives, immigrants, English-speaking, ESL folks, car people, metro people, joggers, walkers, cyclists, fat/cubby/chunky people, ana-looking women, athletic beautiful people all have a place in the neighborhood.
2. There would be a good critical mass of civic minded involved citizenry who would dedicate themselves to the improvement of the neighborhood. There are such people now, but not a critical mass of them.
3. Residents and guests would respect the people of the neighborhood by not dumping trash in the alleys and on the streets. Nor would they roll through with loud thumping bass. Nor would they honk their horns as an alternative to knocking on their intended's door.
4. People would take pride in their homes and themselves.
Business/Commerical
1. There would be 2-3 decent sit down eateries, at least 1 table-cloth'ed restaurant (think Mimi's not Subways) either in Truxton Circle or along 7th Street between S and P.
2. The commerical strip would be dotted with businesses that promote walking and provide an environment for neighbors and friends to run into one another.
3. There would be only a small handful of liquor stores and those stores would sell only decent quality beverages. Few 40s, few MD 20/20, few Wild Irish Rose. The bulk of their sales would not be from things that get you smashed real fast. They would have a good selection of red wines.
4. A bookstore would exist in my fantasy version of the hood. That or a Krispy Kreme. Actually, I can go downtown for books, give me a Krispy Kreme.
Okay, now I got KK on the brain. If you've had a fresh, hot Krispy Creme dougnut, you know what I mean.
drool.
I ask my best friend Mikey a lot of stupid questions like, if you had $10 million dollars... and such. But today I asked myself a stupid question, if I had the power to change the character and nature of Truxton Cirlce (Eastern Shaw) what would I change it to?
Transportation
1. I'd make it way easy to catch a cab on New Jersey or Rhode Island, regardless of the hailer's color or destination. Cabbies are evil and at times hard to find.
2. I'd allow left handed turns on New York Avenue. Anyone who has gotten stuck on NY trying to turn left KNOWS what I'm talking about.
3. I'd put rumble strips on residential roads.
4. Mt. Sinai Baptist would build a parking garage, that residents can use M-F.
People/Residents
1. Diversity balance would be maintained. Meaning families, seniors, whites, blacks, latinos, asians, gays, straights, professionals, blue color workers, low income folks, college kids, teens, natives, immigrants, English-speaking, ESL folks, car people, metro people, joggers, walkers, cyclists, fat/cubby/chunky people, ana-looking women, athletic beautiful people all have a place in the neighborhood.
2. There would be a good critical mass of civic minded involved citizenry who would dedicate themselves to the improvement of the neighborhood. There are such people now, but not a critical mass of them.
3. Residents and guests would respect the people of the neighborhood by not dumping trash in the alleys and on the streets. Nor would they roll through with loud thumping bass. Nor would they honk their horns as an alternative to knocking on their intended's door.
4. People would take pride in their homes and themselves.
Business/Commerical
1. There would be 2-3 decent sit down eateries, at least 1 table-cloth'ed restaurant (think Mimi's not Subways) either in Truxton Circle or along 7th Street between S and P.
2. The commerical strip would be dotted with businesses that promote walking and provide an environment for neighbors and friends to run into one another.
3. There would be only a small handful of liquor stores and those stores would sell only decent quality beverages. Few 40s, few MD 20/20, few Wild Irish Rose. The bulk of their sales would not be from things that get you smashed real fast. They would have a good selection of red wines.
4. A bookstore would exist in my fantasy version of the hood. That or a Krispy Kreme. Actually, I can go downtown for books, give me a Krispy Kreme.
Okay, now I got KK on the brain. If you've had a fresh, hot Krispy Creme dougnut, you know what I mean.
drool.
Tree boxez in the hood
Pity the poor tree box. My tree box, which face it is pitiful. has a dying basil-something (not sweet basil, I could use sweet basil) and a couple of tansys and a lot of root fiber from what? The tree? Plants long since gone? The tansys?
I'm going to have to redo the whole darned thing. What I have done was use some timbers to make a box, fill it with dirt, throw in some plants, and put up some fencing in one corner. The neighborhood kids gave me a run for my money. I had to yell at them for walking into it and on top of it. The edge fencing, I had to replace plastic, that got broken with metal, of which one was broken. Then there were the adults getting out of cars. Lastly the tree itself, blokcing out all light, evil, evil tree.
I'm thinking I should pull out everything, dig up the root filled dirt, put in some barrier between the tree and the plants so the tree's roots can't invade the box, and try to build up the box by another level.
Next, cheap plants.
Pity the poor tree box. My tree box, which face it is pitiful. has a dying basil-something (not sweet basil, I could use sweet basil) and a couple of tansys and a lot of root fiber from what? The tree? Plants long since gone? The tansys?
I'm going to have to redo the whole darned thing. What I have done was use some timbers to make a box, fill it with dirt, throw in some plants, and put up some fencing in one corner. The neighborhood kids gave me a run for my money. I had to yell at them for walking into it and on top of it. The edge fencing, I had to replace plastic, that got broken with metal, of which one was broken. Then there were the adults getting out of cars. Lastly the tree itself, blokcing out all light, evil, evil tree.
I'm thinking I should pull out everything, dig up the root filled dirt, put in some barrier between the tree and the plants so the tree's roots can't invade the box, and try to build up the box by another level.
Next, cheap plants.
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Got nothing but Love for my neighbors
Yesterday went over to Kelly's and they said I could have their bricks so I can pave my perimeter. Just gives me a warm feeling.
Also another lovely feeling, yesterday we had a civic association meeting that did not suck. It was depressing as all out. Did you know DC is number #1 in getting 11 known cancers? The peanut gallery did not show, but we had one manageble nut.
Yesterday went over to Kelly's and they said I could have their bricks so I can pave my perimeter. Just gives me a warm feeling.
Also another lovely feeling, yesterday we had a civic association meeting that did not suck. It was depressing as all out. Did you know DC is number #1 in getting 11 known cancers? The peanut gallery did not show, but we had one manageble nut.
Gentrification and Me, issue 3
Yuppie Scum save the neighborhood: ABC News
Actually titled "There Goes the Neighborhood?Gentrification May Be Good for Everyone, Some Experts Say," by Oliver Libaw for ABC news.com. This April 2002 article's focus is in Brooklyn, NY another gentrifying area on the east coast. The author says despite the opinions of gentrification and attitudes towards the young urban professional, gentrification is actually good for lower income residents. Why? They are less likely to move out and benefit from the improvements gentrification brings. He quotes from Frank Braconi, a co-author in a New York City gentrification study that examined gentrification and low income residents. They do acknowledge that displacement of the poor, one of the major problems of gentrification, does occur. However it must be placed also in the context of general movement of people, as this is a mobile society where people move around a lot.
Gentrification and Displacement, by Lance Freeman & Frank Braconi
A PDF file and article/report from the Citizens Housing and Planning Council's The Urban Prospect publication volume 8, no. 1. This is a lovely 4 page report regarding the displacement of low income people in gentrifying areas of New York City.
First they get into, "define displacement". Displacement, could be several things, it could be the government moving people by force (think highway project), it could be people looking for cheaper rent (Secondary Displacement), or it could be people moving out due to social forces (think moving 'cause they don't wanna live near Puerto Ricans). There are several factors in secondary displacement, which people most associate with gentrification. The desire for lower rents could be pushed by rise of rents or loss of income.
To track displacement they used the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey to gather data. This allowed them to look at movement in the 1990s. Looking at a chart they provide, except for the period between 1991-1993 the rate of displacement was between 5%-6%, kind of small.
They challenge an assumption that "low income households [are] more likely to move out of gentrifying neighborhoods than other neighborhoods?" with "gentrification could encourage households to stay put." Right now I'm thinking Tracy Chapman's Fast Car where the goal is to get out of the lower income environment and "get a bigger house and live in the suburbs." Well what happens when the nice neighborhood comes to you? Being one who has been poor, and talking with others who have lived in "the ghetto", there is this goal to get the heck out of the ghetto to live a better life. So in this scenario, the better neighborhood comes to the ghetto in the form of gentrification. Well that's my theory.
They state that lower income households are faced with a decision when gentrification comes to them. On one hand, stay and take advantage of the neighborhood improvements or move because of higher housing costs. What these families do, depends on which factor is more important. For the authors gentrification makes it less likely that a lower income household will move. They say "poor households residing in on of the seven gentrifying neighborhoods were still found to be 20% less likely to move than poor households residing elsewhere."
The authors never say that displacement does not occur. Yet, we cannot ignore general mobility among people. They say it best in their concluding paragraph that as vacancies appear in gentrifying neighborhoods, they are filled by middle class households, coupled with loss of affordable housing, it takes an appearance that the middle class is driving out the poor.
The economic cleansing of San Francisco: Is San Francisco becoming the first fully gentrified city in America
Okay, I couldn't end this without a story of evil gentrification kicking out the poor and defenseless. Despite the above reports of gentrifying being good for a neighborhood, we all know the mainline thinking that gentrification is evil, evil, evil because it forces families on the streets and the anti-gentrification forces have the examples to prove it. This is one such example from a 1998 San Francisco article about 3 poor elderly Latino women in danger of losing their home due to raising rents. Other Latino women are profiled too. Okay no one is kicked out in the story, but they are all endanger of not being able to keep up with the rents.
And for good measure " Case Study in Displacement on Elizabeth Street Warning: Gentrification in Progress" by J.A. Lobbia in New York City. This covers a NYC building in the process of gentrifying. There are poor immigrants crammed in some units, while other units rehabbed & expanded for 1 or 2 people. The landlord is finding ways to kick out the poorer residents, such as suing them for lease infractions. The truly EVIL part of the landlord is that he sues his Chinese renters and buys off his Latino renters to get them out.
Yuppie Scum save the neighborhood: ABC News
Actually titled "There Goes the Neighborhood?Gentrification May Be Good for Everyone, Some Experts Say," by Oliver Libaw for ABC news.com. This April 2002 article's focus is in Brooklyn, NY another gentrifying area on the east coast. The author says despite the opinions of gentrification and attitudes towards the young urban professional, gentrification is actually good for lower income residents. Why? They are less likely to move out and benefit from the improvements gentrification brings. He quotes from Frank Braconi, a co-author in a New York City gentrification study that examined gentrification and low income residents. They do acknowledge that displacement of the poor, one of the major problems of gentrification, does occur. However it must be placed also in the context of general movement of people, as this is a mobile society where people move around a lot.
Gentrification and Displacement, by Lance Freeman & Frank Braconi
A PDF file and article/report from the Citizens Housing and Planning Council's The Urban Prospect publication volume 8, no. 1. This is a lovely 4 page report regarding the displacement of low income people in gentrifying areas of New York City.
First they get into, "define displacement". Displacement, could be several things, it could be the government moving people by force (think highway project), it could be people looking for cheaper rent (Secondary Displacement), or it could be people moving out due to social forces (think moving 'cause they don't wanna live near Puerto Ricans). There are several factors in secondary displacement, which people most associate with gentrification. The desire for lower rents could be pushed by rise of rents or loss of income.
To track displacement they used the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey to gather data. This allowed them to look at movement in the 1990s. Looking at a chart they provide, except for the period between 1991-1993 the rate of displacement was between 5%-6%, kind of small.
They challenge an assumption that "low income households [are] more likely to move out of gentrifying neighborhoods than other neighborhoods?" with "gentrification could encourage households to stay put." Right now I'm thinking Tracy Chapman's Fast Car where the goal is to get out of the lower income environment and "get a bigger house and live in the suburbs." Well what happens when the nice neighborhood comes to you? Being one who has been poor, and talking with others who have lived in "the ghetto", there is this goal to get the heck out of the ghetto to live a better life. So in this scenario, the better neighborhood comes to the ghetto in the form of gentrification. Well that's my theory.
They state that lower income households are faced with a decision when gentrification comes to them. On one hand, stay and take advantage of the neighborhood improvements or move because of higher housing costs. What these families do, depends on which factor is more important. For the authors gentrification makes it less likely that a lower income household will move. They say "poor households residing in on of the seven gentrifying neighborhoods were still found to be 20% less likely to move than poor households residing elsewhere."
The authors never say that displacement does not occur. Yet, we cannot ignore general mobility among people. They say it best in their concluding paragraph that as vacancies appear in gentrifying neighborhoods, they are filled by middle class households, coupled with loss of affordable housing, it takes an appearance that the middle class is driving out the poor.
The economic cleansing of San Francisco: Is San Francisco becoming the first fully gentrified city in America
Okay, I couldn't end this without a story of evil gentrification kicking out the poor and defenseless. Despite the above reports of gentrifying being good for a neighborhood, we all know the mainline thinking that gentrification is evil, evil, evil because it forces families on the streets and the anti-gentrification forces have the examples to prove it. This is one such example from a 1998 San Francisco article about 3 poor elderly Latino women in danger of losing their home due to raising rents. Other Latino women are profiled too. Okay no one is kicked out in the story, but they are all endanger of not being able to keep up with the rents.
And for good measure " Case Study in Displacement on Elizabeth Street Warning: Gentrification in Progress" by J.A. Lobbia in New York City. This covers a NYC building in the process of gentrifying. There are poor immigrants crammed in some units, while other units rehabbed & expanded for 1 or 2 people. The landlord is finding ways to kick out the poorer residents, such as suing them for lease infractions. The truly EVIL part of the landlord is that he sues his Chinese renters and buys off his Latino renters to get them out.
Monday, October 06, 2003
Gentrification and Me issue 2
Home sick today so updating things between things.
Dealing with Neighborhood Change: A Primer on Gentrification and Policy Choices
This is a Brookings Institute report in PDF file format that attempts to take a neutral stance on gentrification by just defining it, looking at what causes it, identifying stakeholders and possible solutions in trying to create equitable development. It's about 80 pages so it is long. Washington, DC among other cities experiencing the change in demographics in particular neighborhoods are covered. DC and DC neighborhoods in particular, are covered in pages 54-60. They conclude that the causes for gentrification in DC are varied. Columbia Heights is given special attention. The footnotes and bibliography and all the facts packed into the report make it a good resource for anyone on either side of the gentrification arguement.
Chicago Matters: Inside Housing- Town Meetings
Although this is about Chicago, DC residents can feel the Chicago citizens in the town hall meeting in this audio report. As of today, the sponsoring radio station's audio library is down, but do try again. The focus is Lincoln Square where older residents are being priced out of their neighborhood due to the rising cost of housing.
Home sick today so updating things between things.
Dealing with Neighborhood Change: A Primer on Gentrification and Policy Choices
This is a Brookings Institute report in PDF file format that attempts to take a neutral stance on gentrification by just defining it, looking at what causes it, identifying stakeholders and possible solutions in trying to create equitable development. It's about 80 pages so it is long. Washington, DC among other cities experiencing the change in demographics in particular neighborhoods are covered. DC and DC neighborhoods in particular, are covered in pages 54-60. They conclude that the causes for gentrification in DC are varied. Columbia Heights is given special attention. The footnotes and bibliography and all the facts packed into the report make it a good resource for anyone on either side of the gentrification arguement.
Chicago Matters: Inside Housing- Town Meetings
Although this is about Chicago, DC residents can feel the Chicago citizens in the town hall meeting in this audio report. As of today, the sponsoring radio station's audio library is down, but do try again. The focus is Lincoln Square where older residents are being priced out of their neighborhood due to the rising cost of housing.
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Not an update on the neighbor who failed to heed my advice. But concerns next door. I think they'll be renting. My gut tells me the owner is in slumlord mode, so I won't expect any high quality tenants. Regardless if they are high quality, or not, there are things that need to be done, that I wouldn't expect any renter to do. For example, the bricks over the window look as if they are on the verge of falling out. A minor problem, which I can remedy. The owner had the house painted a color close to mine, before it had been a dark shade of purple red. Before the color of my house jumped out as it was a light house between two dark colored houses. Now, at night the colors blend together. That pissed me off. I took a good amount of thought in picking out the color. The last problem, which actually isn't my problem as it is the other neighbor's problem, overgrown weed trees.
Before I thought they were going to sell. But rumor had it he wanted $300K for the house. The house is not going to sell for $300K. The house with the basement and the big backyard on our block sold for $300K. This house has no basement and there's a poor job done on the roof and he wasn't going to put any top of the line appliances in. Although they did a decent job inside the house, it doesn't look like a $300K house. Maybe a $220-$250K but not $300K. Heck the house across the street was listed at $400K and that DEFINITELY was not worth that much. Sunny worked on the house first. G-d in heaven only knows what mistakes still lurk in the walls, despite the other people brought in after him.
Not an update on the neighbor who failed to heed my advice. But concerns next door. I think they'll be renting. My gut tells me the owner is in slumlord mode, so I won't expect any high quality tenants. Regardless if they are high quality, or not, there are things that need to be done, that I wouldn't expect any renter to do. For example, the bricks over the window look as if they are on the verge of falling out. A minor problem, which I can remedy. The owner had the house painted a color close to mine, before it had been a dark shade of purple red. Before the color of my house jumped out as it was a light house between two dark colored houses. Now, at night the colors blend together. That pissed me off. I took a good amount of thought in picking out the color. The last problem, which actually isn't my problem as it is the other neighbor's problem, overgrown weed trees.
Before I thought they were going to sell. But rumor had it he wanted $300K for the house. The house is not going to sell for $300K. The house with the basement and the big backyard on our block sold for $300K. This house has no basement and there's a poor job done on the roof and he wasn't going to put any top of the line appliances in. Although they did a decent job inside the house, it doesn't look like a $300K house. Maybe a $220-$250K but not $300K. Heck the house across the street was listed at $400K and that DEFINITELY was not worth that much. Sunny worked on the house first. G-d in heaven only knows what mistakes still lurk in the walls, despite the other people brought in after him.
Gentrification and me issue 1
I have been collecting a bunch of websites that talk about gentrification. What I hope to do, since I know a few people besides myself look at this site is talk about what is covered. My own feelings are mixed. I am part of the gentrification process simply based on my income (now and future), education and home improvement status. However I do have some sympathy for groups threatened by the changes. As an African-American I do feel bad about the fact that I moved into a predominately black neighborhood that is becoming more of a white neighborhood.
First, my favorite I'm the Enemy a Salon article where the author aknowleges that she's part of the San Francisco gentrification problem, but in away points out the problems of some of the people organizing against gentrification. Maybe I like it because I identify with the author. Although I am not a long term resident. For a while I was poor and (I am still) Black, the same type of folks who are being pushed out of gentrifying areas. The author works in the Arts field, where artists are known for being poor and starving. I work in the library/museum field, not known for being a high paying line of work. Like the author, I figured out how to cash in on my talents (okay a lot of it luck) and save up and buy a house before prices got insane. The author is describing and anti-gentrification meeting, one of several she has attended. The question become who is the "they" , the enemy, that is spoken of in the meetings? The "they" described seem a lot like her, despite the other attendee's assurances that no, she's different. Another problem the "poor people". She describes how some minorities, as the anti-yuppie argument can get race based, have cashed in. A Salvadoran who bought when the prices were rock bottom sold for a nice profit. This is something that is hinted at, but which I thought about after reading this was the tendency of white anti-gentrifiers to turn the minority population, who are typically hurt by this, into their 'noble savages'. Nobel savages are your Tontos, your Fridays, or other moral dark skinned character who is put down by white society but is good and uncorrupted by the bad white man's ways. The author points out that given the chance, the Salvadoran in this case, lusts and chases after the same thing the big bad yuppie does and the noble savages, in this case the Salvadorians, given a chance will gladly move into the yuppie middle class. It is the white bohemians who have chosen a more imporverished lifestyle and who are seemingly trying to impose it on their non-white neighbors.
Gentrification: Gen....What?
Kim Tate is the author and teenager in this article about the changes in her neighborhood. In this her family is selling the house in a gentrifying neighborhood. She seems to be trying to make sense of what is going on around her. Her view of the changes are slightly negative. I say slightly because it lack some of the very angry rhetoric I've seen on other sites. To be any angrier might condemn her parents for even daring to sell their house. There is sadness, but also the same sort of sadness you might find from any teen reflecting on leaving their home. A good thing is at the end of the article there are resources for folks in the Atlanta metro region who are threatened by gentrification.
I have been collecting a bunch of websites that talk about gentrification. What I hope to do, since I know a few people besides myself look at this site is talk about what is covered. My own feelings are mixed. I am part of the gentrification process simply based on my income (now and future), education and home improvement status. However I do have some sympathy for groups threatened by the changes. As an African-American I do feel bad about the fact that I moved into a predominately black neighborhood that is becoming more of a white neighborhood.
First, my favorite I'm the Enemy a Salon article where the author aknowleges that she's part of the San Francisco gentrification problem, but in away points out the problems of some of the people organizing against gentrification. Maybe I like it because I identify with the author. Although I am not a long term resident. For a while I was poor and (I am still) Black, the same type of folks who are being pushed out of gentrifying areas. The author works in the Arts field, where artists are known for being poor and starving. I work in the library/museum field, not known for being a high paying line of work. Like the author, I figured out how to cash in on my talents (okay a lot of it luck) and save up and buy a house before prices got insane. The author is describing and anti-gentrification meeting, one of several she has attended. The question become who is the "they" , the enemy, that is spoken of in the meetings? The "they" described seem a lot like her, despite the other attendee's assurances that no, she's different. Another problem the "poor people". She describes how some minorities, as the anti-yuppie argument can get race based, have cashed in. A Salvadoran who bought when the prices were rock bottom sold for a nice profit. This is something that is hinted at, but which I thought about after reading this was the tendency of white anti-gentrifiers to turn the minority population, who are typically hurt by this, into their 'noble savages'. Nobel savages are your Tontos, your Fridays, or other moral dark skinned character who is put down by white society but is good and uncorrupted by the bad white man's ways. The author points out that given the chance, the Salvadoran in this case, lusts and chases after the same thing the big bad yuppie does and the noble savages, in this case the Salvadorians, given a chance will gladly move into the yuppie middle class. It is the white bohemians who have chosen a more imporverished lifestyle and who are seemingly trying to impose it on their non-white neighbors.
Gentrification: Gen....What?
Kim Tate is the author and teenager in this article about the changes in her neighborhood. In this her family is selling the house in a gentrifying neighborhood. She seems to be trying to make sense of what is going on around her. Her view of the changes are slightly negative. I say slightly because it lack some of the very angry rhetoric I've seen on other sites. To be any angrier might condemn her parents for even daring to sell their house. There is sadness, but also the same sort of sadness you might find from any teen reflecting on leaving their home. A good thing is at the end of the article there are resources for folks in the Atlanta metro region who are threatened by gentrification.
