Negative Effects of Gentrification
Change is something that is bound to happen throughout life, which is normal. However, in this particular topic,we will be looking into changes in the neighborhoods and communities in the United States. Gentrification is the process of renovating and improving a neighborhood to conform to the middle class expectations. So therefore, gentrification changes the neighborhoods and communities to reach an acceptable expectation from people with higher socioeconomic status (SES). These changes can vary from fixing up roads, renovating buildings and even bringing in businesses etc.
Some argue that there are more negative effects of gentrification in the community. These negative effects are the higher cost of living, the displacements of people with low socioeconomic status (SES) and homelessness. Because gentrification is renovating a neighborhood to reach a higher expectation than that means that the price of living in these neighborhoods would increase. For instance, looking at the picture above shows an old building which would cost less compared to the new and improved building that would cost more to live in. Also looking at the same picture, you can tell which building would be considered more affordable and which would be more expensive. The old building would be a place that people in low socioeconomic status could afford to live in but once it is gentified than it will become the new and improved building which than they would not be able to afford. This would lead them to move out and find somewhere affordable to live which is called displacement.
Displacement is when people with low-income have to eventually move out of their neighborhood due to gentrification increasing the price on housing. When houses and buildings are fixed then they put a higher price on it and than people in low SES can’t afford it. This leads to poor people moving out of the neighborhood and sometimes can even move states in order to find an affordable place to live (Stabrowski 2014). Throughout the U.S gentrification has pushed out the poor people from the neighborhood in order to bring in people with a higher socioeconomic status because they will bring in profit. This is due to the fact that people with low SES do not have the money to put into the neighborhood and they are viewed as undervalued people. This means that the neighborhood will be undervalued as well (Powell, Spencer 2003). Poor people end up having to move out and find places they can afford and sometimes end up in a worse neighborhood.
Over the years homelessness has been increasing in the United States. This can be the effect of gentrification because they are pushing out homeless people and even causing homelessness. Gentrification can cause homelessness because they are increasing the price in housing which people with low SES would not be able to afford and they end up homeless (Reese, Deverteuil, Thach 2010). Gentrification is advertised as decreasing homelessness but in reality if it’s not causing homelessness than its increasing it.
