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This is the general arc of "gentrification". First, a few places in the neighborhood are rehabbed by developers. Next the "...Burning Man hippies, self-styled
by bilbo0s 13y ago
This is the general arc of "gentrification".
First, a few places in the neighborhood are rehabbed by developers.
Next the "...Burning Man hippies, self-styled artists, people who graduated from great schools with useless majors, and the usual constituent of the ... overprivileged..." move in to the rehabbed areas and the (usually) blacks have to move out.
These hippy - artist types make the neighborhood more attractive to people even further up the food chain. (Read techies). And soon the time comes for the hippy - artists to move out.
The hippy - artists are unhappy... but the reality is... this is no more than what they did to the blacks.
Soon the time will come for the techies to move out... and, I'm sure, they will be unhappy as well when their time comes.
This same progression happens all over. I think Harlem is probably one of the best examples. (It's WAY ahead of SF area in that regard). Blacks had to move when the artists showed up because they could no longer afford it. Then, when the techies and yuppies showed up... the hippies, artists and teachers hit the roof, because it was their turn to move. Harlem is at the stage now where the celebrities and bankers are showing up ... and like clockwork ... the techies are hitting the roof because it's their turn to move.
The thing is ... in the end ... they all moved. They didn't engage in violence.
That people are upset should be expected... but I would point out that places like Harlem have gone through this process with multiple populations without violence. It can be done.
- dualogy 13y agoIs there some migration back to where all the celebrities and bankers came from?
- bilbo0s 13y agoI wouldn't know... I suspect not... probably just the people that don't leave those buildings combine units. And then, of course, there are the foreigners who just buy apartments and never live in them. It's just a couple of guesses, but I think that's probably how that space is reallocated in those areas. I seriously doubt the displaced techies and hospital administrators can afford to go buy in those areas. I think it's off to Brooklyn (or maybe queens???) with them... at least until the bankers show up there.
- mtdewcmu 13y agoI've noticed that the truly down-and-out seem to take further misfortune in stride. They expect it.
- cpucycling 13y agoand we should expect them to!
- kevrone 13y agoI didn't know Harlem had a tech community. Brooklyn, for sure. But Harlem? That's news to me.
- avn2109 13y agoSeriously. I live in Harlem (Hamilton Heights) and tech/bankers/celebrities are not extant anywhere near me.
- bilbo0s 13y agoI operate out of Houston... so I only know the buildings that I have the investment info on. Without going to check... two projects spring to mind along [W] 118th (8th/Fredrick Douglas area). They are SUPPOSED to be upscale. Maybe upscale in NY is different than upscale in Houston??? Don't know. At any rate... these are just two of several projects throughout Harlem. If you live in an area of Harlem that developers have not encroached on... buy more property around you and sit on it. You are right in the middle of what will be a golden opportunity. (But the prices may already be reflecting that. Wouldn't hurt to check though would be my advice.)
- bilbo0s 13y agoI was just trying to put the arc in Bay Area terms for illustration purposes. There ARE a lot of tech workers in Harlem, but not a "tech community". As a general rule... most of the people purchasing in Harlem are purchasing to get AWAY from their professional communities. So what I meant was more the NY equivalent of upper-middle class technocrat. ie - hospital administrators, lawyers, book store owners, doctors, sports management guys... and, of course, techies too. Maybe it would have been more clear if I had used the normal real estate divisions of "workforce", "upscale" and "exclusive". I just thought artists, teachers, techies and celebrities would illustrate the differences a little better for the purposes of making the point against violence.