Gentrification Makes Meanies of All of Us:
Curbed.com recently ran an open letter about gentrification which just about brings about the worst in people on both sides. Sure, the old junior high nerd in me eats stuff like this up…
Don’t rent to anyone that was in a frat or sorority. don’t rent to anyone who wears black pants, a blue shirt and a gold tie to work. don’t rent to anyone who gushes about the opening of a sushi restaurant on franklin without at least considering that every new business catering to recent arrivals ratchets up the cycle of neighborhood replacement. don’t rent to anyone who works in equity trading, i-banking or finance in general. don’t rent to anyone who describes things as “sketch” (a term only used by people who aren’t from the area they’re describing). don’t rent to anyone who wears a dirty white baseball cap. don’t rent to anyone who played lacrosse (unless they’re indians). don’t rent to anyone who like totally talks in that cringe-inducing neo-valley girl voice.
And, in spirit, loves this…
rent to artistically-inclined people. rent to actors and musicians and painters and writers and designers and carpenters and chefs and gallery curators. rent to social workers and nurses and people who work at non-profit organizations. rent to people who are interesting, people who are intelligent, people who have hobbies, people who have dreams that consist of something other than making partner. rent to people who aren’t living here as a pitstop on the way to a luxury condo. rent to people who have heard of the caribbean day parade, of the riots, people who have a rudimentary understanding of the area’s history. rent to people that will contribute to the neighborhood in some way, shape or form.
But ya know what? I live in Haight-Ashbury, the shining example of the latter, at least 40 years ago. Haight-Ashbury has gone from the Grateful Dead’s neighborhood in 1967 to a theme park for suburban teenagers, a toilet for homeless kids and a fantasy for ex-hippes lucky enough to have bought a house up the hill 3 decades ago. The Haight no more resembles the birthplace of free love in 2006 than Hollywood Blvd. resembles where Gene Kelly attended premieres. That a supermarket sits vacant two blocks from my house because the neighborhood won’t late a Trader Joe’s move in (it’s both non-union and will bring “gentrification”) tells me it’s delusional and dangerous to think otherwise.
I don’t think gentrification is an either/or. I don’t think we have to rip the guts out of a neighborhood to make it friendly to a higher paying clientele because no one moves to a place like the East Village in search of a funky Starbucks. But there is nothing “real” or “authentic” about homeless teens and drug dealing in front of the local bodega. It means that the neighborhood and by extention, the city, isn’t doing its job providing a viable alternative to its residents. It also creates an environment people are affraid to raise families in, furthering the dangerous perception that a city neighborhood is for 20 somethings, gay couples and the retired but anyone with “serious priorities” should head for the suburbs. No city can survive that way.
The sad truth is also that there are way more boring people than interesting ones. Why a straight-edged fellow moves to a funky neighborhood then complains there’s no Banana Republic, I’ll never know. But as long as there is a paucity of interesting places to live and a surplus of people looking to gain social capital by moving there, I don’t see how we are going to escape this miasma known as “gentrification.” The question more me is can we come up with some practical, workable solutions that involve neighbors, business and government, instead of just calling each other names? (via Buzzfeed).
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8 Replies to “Gentrification Makes Meanies of All of Us:”
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I live in the upper Haight, and you’re right — it’s fun and laid back, but perhaps lack a sense of obligation and dedication. Curbed’s essay seems to disqualify serious hard-working professionals, who may not be interested in a Caribbean parade but also are probably less interested in participating in petty crimes.
Were I a landlord, I probably wouldn’t invite in frat-house people. But I would be ok with a friendly, responsible lawyer with no hobbies, who dreams of making partner. I mean, does EVERYONE have to be an exciting bohemian?
In re Practical Solutions: I think no neighborhood can have enough pedestrian amenities. The more people get out of the house/car and mingle, the more invested they’ll be in personalizing and maintaining the place. (But I dunno; the Haight is pretty pedestrianny, so it might prove that theory wrong.)
I live in the upper Haight, and you’re right — it’s fun and laid back, but perhaps lack a sense of obligation and dedication. Curbed’s essay seems to disqualify serious hard-working professionals, who may not be interested in a Caribbean parade but also are probably less interested in participating in petty crimes.
Were I a landlord, I probably wouldn’t invite in frat-house people. But I would be ok with a friendly, responsible lawyer with no hobbies, who dreams of making partner. I mean, does EVERYONE have to be an exciting bohemian?
In re Practical Solutions: I think no neighborhood can have enough pedestrian amenities. The more people get out of the house/car and mingle, the more invested they’ll be in personalizing and maintaining the place. (But I dunno; the Haight is pretty pedestrianny, so it might prove that theory wrong.)
Matt,
I like the way you think.
Matt,
I like the way you think.
i have to agree with mattymatt, but also with the thought about safety. as a parent with two kids, there’s areas of town i’d prefer to live in for what can only be put in quotes “bohemian sensibility” – but i am pragmatic as well. i can’t be someplace where i am going to be afraid to have my kids walk down the street or play in the park.
i want a place that feels like a neighborhood, where people interact and know one another’s names. i’ve only read snippets of bowling alone, but he makes the argument of how important those connections to our neighbors are in creating community.
for me, it’s less about the exterior of a person and more about the interior and what they are willing to do to create community.
great post, kevin, would make for a great salon topic.
i have to agree with mattymatt, but also with the thought about safety. as a parent with two kids, there’s areas of town i’d prefer to live in for what can only be put in quotes “bohemian sensibility” – but i am pragmatic as well. i can’t be someplace where i am going to be afraid to have my kids walk down the street or play in the park.
i want a place that feels like a neighborhood, where people interact and know one another’s names. i’ve only read snippets of bowling alone, but he makes the argument of how important those connections to our neighbors are in creating community.
for me, it’s less about the exterior of a person and more about the interior and what they are willing to do to create community.
great post, kevin, would make for a great salon topic.
I just moved to Prospect Heights (the neighborhood around which that message board revolves). With the huge, underwhelming Gehry project going up on the north end and the spillover from long-gentrified Park Slope spilling up from the south, this is one of the more dramatically changing areas.
I definitely bring a different perspective, coming from Michigan and growing up in the orbit of decaying Detroit. I’ve seen neighborhoods that never suffered the indignity of gentrfication. Many of them simply don’t exist anymore. At all.
Core features of gentrification must happen in a healthy city. Populations must shift Buildings must be rehabilitated. New construction must happen. If these things don’t happen a city will eventually die. I think it’s just made more severe than it needs to be — the dramatic wealth gap in the US accelerates the rate of change and increases its severity on the displaced. Nice catch on this post. See you in Texas.
I just moved to Prospect Heights (the neighborhood around which that message board revolves). With the huge, underwhelming Gehry project going up on the north end and the spillover from long-gentrified Park Slope spilling up from the south, this is one of the more dramatically changing areas.
I definitely bring a different perspective, coming from Michigan and growing up in the orbit of decaying Detroit. I’ve seen neighborhoods that never suffered the indignity of gentrfication. Many of them simply don’t exist anymore. At all.
Core features of gentrification must happen in a healthy city. Populations must shift Buildings must be rehabilitated. New construction must happen. If these things don’t happen a city will eventually die. I think it’s just made more severe than it needs to be — the dramatic wealth gap in the US accelerates the rate of change and increases its severity on the displaced. Nice catch on this post. See you in Texas.