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The "war" on gentrification has in my experience been one of the most passive and apathetic wars, and like the article says, its mostly the first wave of gentri
by tomlock 12y ago
The "war" on gentrification has in my experience been one of the most passive and apathetic wars, and like the article says, its mostly the first wave of gentrifiers that complain about it. In university, the local anti-gentrification movement formed food co-ops and local community groups, and hung out in tiny coffee shops with local art on the walls. I always felt like their passive, unknowing contribution to attracting further gentrification was greater than any resistance to it.
- mc32 12y agoThe article also assumes artists are the main agents of change as if without them change would not happen. I would not be so sure about that -- I think its more that they happen to be artists but they could easily be students or any other spearhead of change which might pave the way for followers. The force making housing unaffordable in silicon valley is not artists but tech workers and everyone else trying to find a ride on that economic wave... Anyway its all part of bigger forces, economic, social, demographic, etc.
- Ollinson 12y agoThe artsy waterfront areas that are now gentrified were originally large dilapidated work lofts that were not really intended for residents. Many of them lacked bathrooms or kitchens. There is a really good new york times article from the late 1980s that talks about how residents coped with the lack of such basic amenities (I can't find it now but I used it previously in an essay). Rezoning paved the way for true residential housing and with that came the high prices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg,_Brooklyn#Gentrification_and_2005_rezoning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg,_Brooklyn#Gentrifi...
- tomlock 12y agoI think we might be discussing slightly different aspects of the same thing. While I think there are certainly actions that the government takes which promote gentrification, I feel like the resistance to it can create communities which actually make the area more appealing to the next wave of gentrification! For example, a squat populated by artists might actually provide more affordable housing for artists while simultaneously making the area more "bohemian" and appealing to the young professionals that like that kind of thing.