Gentrification

Gentrification has come to signify wealthier residents pushing lower-income residents out of a community, but gentrification also has some "undeniable upsides". Ward 8 in Washington D.C. offers a glimpse into how gentrification can aid a community.

December 28, 2011 - Salon.com

Chumbo (Chinatown Under the Manhattan Bridge) is drawing young creative types to a slice of Chinatown with--what else--low rent. Is this neighborhood within a neighborhood big enough for long-time residents and newcomers?

December 2, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

A new film, "Creativity and the Capitalist City: The Struggle for Affordable Space in Amsterdam", explores the issue of gentrification in the city. polis has a review.

November 3, 2011 - POLIS

Kaid Benfield argues that continues revitalization of inner city neighborhoods is essential to achieving an equitable civil society, sustainable patterns of growth and maintaining a tax base to fund civic improvements.

October 22, 2011 - The Atlantic

Community board members, representing a traditionally Dominican neighborhood with six- to 10-story buildings, recently rejected one developer's plans for a mixed-income project of 800+ apartments, fearing gentrification and non-contextual development

October 22, 2011 - The New York Times

Kaid Benfield bravely tackles the topic of gentrification, suggesting that while all attempts should be made to avoid displacing current residents, revitalizing neighborhoods is still a good thing.

October 21, 2011 - NRDC Blog

The argument that increased supply of urban housing will lower prices is rapidly being disproved by successive waves of gentrification throughout American cities. Stephen Smith offers a considered analysis of the economics behind this dynamic.

September 29, 2011 - Forbes

This past weekend I attended a memorial service for a local activist. Eric Quezada was important in many planning-related issues here in San Francisco – how we create space that reflects the cultural traditions of our large immigrant communities, the importance of preventing displacement of low-income people, the development of affordable housing and institutions that meet the needs of all of our citizenry. I had known Eric for many years, but had the privilege of working most closely with him when I served on our city’s Planning Commission and he was a lead organizer in the Mission District, an historically Latino neighborhood threatened by dot-com fueled gentrification. In his short 45 years on earth, Eric touched the lives of thousands here and around the world.

September 28, 2011 - Lisa Feldstein

With the not-so-secret understanding that white people are much more likely to bike, some ethnic minorities in Portland, Oregon see the coming of a bike lane through their neighborhood as a fast lane to gentrification.

September 6, 2011 - Shareable

Residents of the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco fear that redevelopment threatens to gentrify the area in a way that pushes out low- and middle-income black residents.

August 28, 2011 - High Country News

Community leaders argue that the recently approved Philadelphia comprehensive plan does more for developers than the working class in this op-ed.

August 16, 2011 - Philadelphia Inquirer

A citywide brownfields recovery program in New York City has been cleaning up polluted sites, allowing new developments to move in on formerly vacant areas. But some worry the program is fueling gentrification.

June 1, 2011 - Gotham Gazette

As a Berlin neighborhood gains favor among foreign tourists, locals are fighting to preserve their community's charm and identity.

March 12, 2011 - Der Spiegel

Washington D.C. has for many years had a high population of African Americans. But now, they're moving out to the suburbs and white people are moving in.

February 19, 2011 - NPR

New transit stations can have major gentrifying impacts on neighborhoods -- from median income to car ownership rates, according to a recent study.

November 3, 2010 - Next American City

The crash of the economy happened at the right time for gentrifying downtown Los Angeles, according to this piece from the Los Angeles Times.

August 9, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

An artist collective staged a tongue-in-cheek interactive game in Brooklyn last month they called "Gentrification: The Game," putting developers against locals and with a generous helping of hipsters.

July 29, 2010 - The Toronto Star

Howard Ahmanson poses the idea that Los Angeles might be the least gentrified city in the U.S., with a history of white flight south and immigrants improving their own neighborhoods and holding on to them.

May 19, 2010 - New Geography

This blog post from Governing explores the similarities between San Francisco's troubled Tenderloin district and Los Angeles' Skid Row-adjacent Spring Street corridor, and why one struggles and the other has found some developmental success.

April 23, 2010 - Governing

The search for authenticity lead Generation Xers to move into gritty, urban environments that their overwhelming numbers managed to kill, says Adam Mayer in a review of Sharon Zukin's book Naked City.

April 12, 2010 - New Geography