Friday Funny: The Onion Discovers New Gentrification Indicators

Recent days and weeks have seen a steady stream of pointed satire from The Onion about urban living, lifestyles, and the urban milieu. Mostly run in the "News in Brief" section of the website, The Onion continues its tradition of satirizing gentrification with "Trees Planted in Poor Neighborhood Mature Just in Time for Gentrification" and "Neighborhood Starting To Get Too Safe For Family To Afford." Then there is the story of a local man who is single-handedly quelling the flow of new residents to his neighborhood by telling co-workers about the drawbacks of his neighborhood, including a main square with a "great little coffee shop and 'only a few muggings a month.'"

Another article satirizes a feeling of frustration possibly experienced by many would-be urban gardeners, who, despite best intentions, fail to produce anything worth eating in their gardens. According to the fake news story, "After months of watering, mulching, staking, fertilizing, pruning, and spraying each plant, local homeowner Margie Helmholtz confirmed Wednesday that an entire summer of tending her backyard garden had yielded one edible cherry tomato."