Summary: Analyzing Gentrification Through The Lenses

Analyzing Gentrification Through the Lenses

Analyzing Gentrification Through the Lenses

Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College, Peter Kwong once said, “Living in this gentrification environment is much more difficult for residents. Actually, what they’re doing is killing the indigenous culture.” This process of gentrification that Kwong is referring to is defined as the purchasing and renovating of low-priced properties, usually by higher income individuals, in often deteriorated urban neighborhoods. The result is an influx of wealthier residents, and in effect, higher property prices. Gentrification applies to many different aspects of society, especially in urban communities. It is important to analyze the complex process
Moreover, gentrification also impacts the economics of a neighborhood. These impacts include both the positive and negative situations for their community. Lower-class residents are constantly being targeted by large city government corporations to relocate, however, along with these negative connotations, are benefits. Benefits that include a more lavish lifestyle which include the installation of boutiques, bookstores, coffee shops, and clubs. Gentrification also impacts economics on a larger scale when considering redevelopment projects. These projects are often managed by big name corporations who use gentrification to their aid when undergoing such businesses . The question of ethics also applies to the process of gentrification. An analysis of gentrification through an ethical perspective reveals the disagreements that exist over whether it should be tolerated. Some view it as unethical due to several negative consequences, such as displacement and outright racism. On the other hand, some see it as ethical because of the many benefits it
Jackelyn Hwang, a student in the sociology program at Harvard University, and another sociologist Scholar, Robert Sampson, executed an analytical research in debilitates neighborhoods in Chicago that shows the patterns of gentrification over a certain time period. After many years of studying, Jackelyn and Robert found that neighborhoods with a higher percentage of blacks and latinos (at least forty percent) are less likely to be gentrified. They were able to discover that white people gentrify neighborhoods that already consist of white people. People are often unwilling to move into unfamiliar areas. Annalee Newitz says that the gentrifiers don’t realize that they are pushing others out. By moving in, [whites (gentrifiers)] push up the percentage of caucasians in a mixed neighborhood, and black and Latino locals have to find somewhere else to go. Their moving in often leads to skyrocketing property values and rent prices. Most whites believe that they are just moving into a new neighborhood without realizing that they are practically pushing down and kicking out the lower-income families. These lower-income families seem to have drastically different viewpoints of the gentrification