Media Experiment: Perspectives On Gentrification

How do commentators on YouTube view gentrification?

The term gentrification is often talked about but rarely understood in the same perspective. In this post, I will briefly review the video above that discusses gentrification. Then share how commentators of the web interpreted the video findings.

During a recent interview, it was brought to my attention that people mistake gentrification as revitalization. In the following video urban scholar, Stacey Sutton at Columbia University, define the concept making certain her audience understand the difference between gentrification and revitalization.

According to her research, gentrification is

The “ processes by which higher income or higher status people relocate to or invest in low-income urban neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have historically been dis-invested by both the public and private sector and so as higher income people move to these areas it’s typically to capitalize on the low property values. In doing so they inflate property values displace low income people and fundamentally alter the culture and character of the neighborhood”.

She cites evidence of this occasion in the economic inequality and racial tensions in America. For instance she states, “the neighborhoods that are gentrifying across the country are disproportionately occupied by black and brown people thus black and brown people are disproportionately being displaced and typically they’re being displaced by the influx of white people this dynamic you can imagine causes all sorts of tensions”.

On the other hand, she reveals that revitalization happens when

A “neighborhood change improvement upgrading but it’s done through a bottom-up. It’s usually done with community residents and community organizations. Often with the help of public and private sector but they’re improving housing and attracting businesses to the corridor making the neighborhood safe and clean but the most important points and revitalization is that the neighborhood remains affordable for low-income people”.

Her statement implies revitalization utilizes the participation of those people already living in that neighborhood and help provide them with a healthier lifestyles according to their needs while still making the area attractive to outsiders.

By comparing these terms side by side she is trying to advocate for revitalization without gentrification to protect the culture and humanity of those people who live in these communities.

In the comment section it appears not everyone see gentrification in the same negative light as she does. Instead, they see the term as an insult to white people or progress toward a high quality of life. For example,

Those who somewhat agreed with her ideas state the following: