Essays on Gentrification

Question 1: Race as a Socially Significant Category

Many of the social and political issues present in society today are rooted in the ideology of racism and ethnic misconceptions. The tragedy is that no one has yet to realize how racial biases and confusion affects the way people view and handle injustices. Biologically, every individual in the globe is genetically similar to another person, the probable reason that we are referred to as the human race. However, races have been developed by the society as social constructs that provide people with an identity or a label to their names. The society eliminates the utopian ideal introduced by ...

The environmental issues have always been put in the “corner of political agenda” (Rushefsky, 215) not only in the United States but almost in all states all over the world. They have been a subject of underestimation in concurrence with other problems as energy sources and economics. Unfortunately the goals of the environmental policies often compete with each other and do not contribute to their implementation by the governments. For instance, the goal of security contradicts the goal of efficiency providing the sense of uncertainty and the possibility of different interpretations. The individual’s or entity’s liberty rights ...

The current growth of higher education has increased the concentrations of students in residential areas in urban centers (Smith, 2005). Most of higher learning institutions have open doors policy for both the local and international students that translate into the influx of students from different cultural backgrounds in residential areas. The firms owning residential buildings interpret studentification as a benefit to their business (Sage, Smith, & Hubbard, 2012). These companies usually inflate the rental charges to match the increased housing demand. The social cohesion in the residential communities has also been adversely affected by the growing number of students in ...

Gentrification has been a very controversial topic in urban planning since 1964, when it was first introduced. Though upper and middle classes can benefit from this process, it can bring significant loss to low income residents. Some people see this process as the one that improves the quality of life, others are left with nothing but hatred for people who took their places and changed their communities. There are different views and opinions on whether gentrification has more advantages or, on the contrary, more negative sides. In this paper there are many researches on gentrification discussed and compared, as ...

In 1947, the top 1% got 12% of the aggregate, and after three decades, in 1978, that stayed about the same - entirely bring down - at 9%. The main 1 percent's offer held at near 10% all through each of the three decades. The post-war period is broadly seen as a brilliant age of the white collar class, with an economy energized in critical part by working class spending. The working class prospered. Its numbers extended, and its expectations for everyday comforts climbed consistently. The U.S. economy developed, and that development lifted a large number of families out ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba is a thriving Canadian city whose economy is to an important extent based upon cultural industries. After the 1970s economic crisis, the city started to reduce its manufacturing industry and to invest more in services and in cultural businesses. The city reinvented itself following the downtown rehabilitation process. This project included the rejuvenation of the Forks, a historical site which now attracts millions of visitors each year. The city also invested in its digital media educational programs in order to form skilled workers for the newest technological companies in the fields of film production, advertising, graphic design, ...

Two key issues emerge from the film, Do the Right Thing - race relations and the use of neighborhoods in cinema. Young, in her book entitled Fear of the Dark, explains how race and racism are often heavily highlighted in movies. It is as if Hollywood draws breath from them. Mennel in her work, Cities and Cinema, she observes that the use of cities and neighborhoods is provides powerful excitement to scripts. Even if the movies themselves are potent in dazzling viewers, the cities and neighborhoods that are used give a unique feel and realism. This paper discusses the ...

Quality of life has never been the same in London since we started witnessing greater impact of gentrification. The contemporary change, which makes it so much different to the past life, is much pronounced in the culture change coming as the result of gentrification. In the past, London was a city of diversity, with both rich and poor individuals within the urban neighborhood having the same representation. As per now the quality of life in London, based on culture measurement, there is an ongoing trend whereby the lower income individuals and smaller businesses are slowly being displaced as the ...

Gentrification refers to the restoration of run-down urban regions by the middle class causing a displacement of the low income residents. While some of the indigenous residents of these cities find it hard to cope with the changing standards of living in the cities, the middle class who are not necessarily from around get to occupy the areas formerly occupied by the low income residents. This has had major impacts in the cities politically, socially, economically, as well as culturally. The presentation, therefore, looks at instances where gentrification has taken place in the two reading texts and the effects of ...

Question 1

The Doonesbury cartoon presented in the question contains the quintessential arguments both for and against social justice. The NAACP representative in the cartoon—really a representative of all minority groups that fight for social justice—is acting by calling in doomsday propositions based on the current events in society. This is a parody that many people in the majority have about minority cultures—that because really terrible forms of discrimination were in the past and are no longer practiced, modern society does not need to recognize that there are still forms of discrimination practiced every day.

There is generally a sense ...

Essay A:2

Two ways that have been developed to re-design the social and economic dynamics of a community are gentrification and urban renewal. Both programs have received positive and negative reviews and it is uncertain as to whether they are guaranteed to be effective. Though they have similarities, they are not one in the same. This essay will uncover the similarities, differences and impact of these two programs. Gentrification is a form of construction designed to gravitate a financially higher class of residents. Historically, gentrification was present even in the pioneer and Native American settlements. Gentrification was considered, in old terms language, “the ...

Social conflict theories claim that society is in a state of perpetual conflict due to competition for limited resources (Johnson 164). According to conflict theory, the wealthy use force and power to maintain class status. The rich exploit the poor in a destructive pursuit of creating and maintaining wealth. Once in power, they create institutions, governments and systems that maintain and strengthen their power, and perpetuate the exploitation of the poor (Knapp 280). Social conflict theory focuses on the socioeconomic inequality in society, and usually offer criticism of established power structures, such as governments, economic systems or entities like the “military ...

Introduction

Somewhere around the midst of the twentieth century, policymakers, and activists were anxious about the decline of the inner city across the United States. The reason was that the people with money were going for the suburbs. However, the widespread reports and notions of the demise of American cities proved to be untrue. At the start of 1970s (What is Gentrification 2003), the urban life began to revive, and one finds most of the cities thriving once more and with more vigor. What we find here is Gentrification. It means the arrival of a wealthier lot in the already existing ...

- Research Question: Within the terms of gentrification, artists significantly contribute to the value of the resided neighborhoods and society. How can artists’ contribution to gentrification and rejuvenating neighborhoods be supported and made more sustainable? - A Working Title

Art and Gentrification: Real Estate Developers and Land Lords Are Not to Be the Only Ones Benefiting From This Symbiosis.

- Short Description This paper does not only explain the phenomenon of art-based gentrification and the changes it entails in the modern urban society lifestyle, but raises the issue of making artists' contribution to rejuvenating the neighborhood more supported and sustainable. Gentrification is often called a double-edged sword mainly for the controversial impact it has on rejuvenation and ...

Gentrification refers to the shifting of urban lifestyle. This can include urban city planning, development of sophisticated houses and infrastructure across the town. In addition, gentrification can be characterized by increased rents, value of land and houses. The results of gentrification are always complex and contradictory. This essay seeks to examine how gentrification can be good or bad. The goodness of gentrification can be associated with the positive trending of Cleveland, which emerged as an urban city in the 1990s by restructuring itself. The reconstruction centered on the foundation of the post-Fordism, incipient technology and cultural consumption. The ...

Gentrification is a complicated phenomenon that has become a hot topic during the previous several decades since the baby boom due to its controversial impact on society, politics, economy and culture. There are many definitions of gentrification due to the notion’s complexity, but in its essence, it is a process of change of the urban inner city community, during which the low-income population is gradually substituted by the middle class one, with this change being followed by the increase in property prices, renovation, inflow of investment and general improvement of the neighborhood’s well-being. Gentrification is caused by a number of factors, ...

As cities across the country and all around the world continue to grow and expand their borders, both physical and cultural, a question lands in citizens’ minds, although it is hardly a new one: where is the city going? In the essays in which this paper is founded on, there are at least two major points to make regarding the shift in demographics: the first the phenomenon of gentrification (which is to say, when an urban community changes towards wealthier residents or businesses, making the property more valuable in the market); and, secondly, there is Richard Florida’s theory regarding ...

The structures of the cities before the 1920s consisted of unflattering, slum-like structures that casted the cities in a bad light. They were not efficient to live and from the 1920s; changes had to be made. Of all the ways to renovate the cities, the one that stood out the most was building the city structures from the ground up. According to Short, urban renewal needs to start from the ground up (Short, 299). The urbanization of the cities worldwide started to take effect from the 1940s to the 1970s. The main idea behind this urbanization was to transform ...

The Promotion of Mixed Income Neighborhoods in Hollywood, California

Chapter I: Introduction The facts are impossible to ignore: focusing on places, health and walkability requires increased public transit infrastructure, which creates new jobs, enlivens neighborhoods, creates local business opportunities and connects communities, both vulnerable and thriving, to vital amenities and resources. (Raphael &Espiau, 2010, par. 9) Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a neighborhood development plan focusing on easy access to major transit stops. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) defined TOD during the 1990s when undertaking a project consisting of initiatives to promote livable communities: “Transit-oriented communities are characterized by design and development patterns that are conducive to the ...

Chapter Reviews from Cities of Tomorrow

2. The City of Dreadful Night In Chapter 2, “The City of Dreadful Night,” Hall discusses the terrible working and living conditions in cities during the industrial revolution. The living conditions in Victorian London and other industrialized cities, caused by migration and economic restructuring, led to revolts, middle class fears of working class revolts and a growing number of researchers and reformers interested in learning more about or improving conditions in cities. There were significant fears of revolt in London in the 1880s following the 1884 Reform Act. The rapid growth of urban population created various problems and required ...

Chapter V

Discussion of Results and Conclusions This dissertation began with a quote from Raphael and Espiau (2010, par. 9) describing the positive outcomes that are the goals of TOD. Those goals include offering a high quality of life, healthy neighborhoods, and increased public transit infrastructure. The goals are expected to create equitable communities because jobs and equal access to facilities and services exist. Hollywood in Los Angeles County (LAC) has had especially challenging problems due to the sheer number of cars and people involved in the congestion of the highways. The LAC Metro has been a forerunner in the U.S. in organizing ...

Abstract

Urban centers are reliant of proper and insight planning and renewal policies in order to cope with increased social-economic demands from their populace. Milwaukee’s Washington Park and Riverwest neighborhoods contrast in some neighborhoods indictors such as housing, population, demographics, social life and economic status. While Riverwest neighborhood is lowly populated at 11, 653 residents most of whom are Caucasians, Washington Park has a small population of 1,184 dominated by African Americans. Economically the two neighborhoods have a significant difference with Washington Park boasting an average median household income of $23,327 while Riverwest households average at $30, 436. These ...

Introduction

It is not secret that there is still racial inequality within society. The mass migrations to cities have left many neighborhoods overpopulated, destitute, and families mainly minorities, left holding the bag. The progress of urbanization has led to many positive and negative aspects that affect every member. As life expectancy increases, people will naturally migrate from rural areas to urban areas where there is more opportunity for sustainable living. In essence the concept of participatory design has emerged from urbanization, a tool implemented in order to include community involvement in urban planning and development. In the matter of Atlantic Yards ...

Residents from Diverse Socio-Economic Levels

Economics Residents from Diverse Socio-Economic Levels Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of housing development located near major transit stops so that residents have only a short distance to walk to reach a mass transportation station. TOD is attractive to many cities and urban areas because it is designed as sustainable development. The households constructed are targeted for mixed-use by residents of all ages and with varying incomes who can easily access rail or bus transportation. A mix of socio-economic levels is a characteristic of TOD. The availability of mass transit decreases the negative impacts of automobiles on the environment. Less ...

Introduction

Crime is a retrogressive phenomenon that has brought about much concern in the world. Criminal elements are found in almost every developed and developing metropolitan setting all over the world. Criminal elements are formed due to circumstances or the urge to take part in criminal activities by some people. Many governments and authorities have derived ways they would employ to curb the rising wave of insecurity in cities. Authorities have invested a considerable amount of effort in arresting criminal situations but have not achieved much success. There are concerns by some human rights groups over extra judicial killings perpetrated by government ...

The African Americans living in the south decided to move in large numbers towards North and mid west in search for better living and good education. In the south, they had faced a lot of mistreat and discrimination. This mass movement was referred to as The Great Migration. These people later converged at Harlem, New York City. The celebration of African American culture through music, art, dance and literature were the activities that went on throughout the moment of Harlem Renaissance in the year 1924 to 1929. It was a moment when the African Americans learnt to accept their origin ...

In the book, there are many issues that the author brings to the attention about journalism in America. The authors start by stating that there was massive layoffs and increase of bad news. The book records that there was massive layoffs of close to 6000 journalists in the year 2008. There were newspapers which were being closed. There were reported bankruptcies of the decrease in sales of advertisements. The classified sections of newspapers were dwindling. All these are presented in chapter one of the book where the authors argue that the problems that were experienced came as a result of ...