Reading Response 10/10
The readings for today hit very close to home. My neighborhood growing up in San Francisco bordered the Mission. It was the place where I spent most of my free time, from getting food, to shopping or photographing street art. It’s so disheartening to read the statistics about the decrease in the Latino population and to learn that many residents are unaware of their rights when they are being pushed out. There is also something extremely unsettling with outsiders calling a culturally-rich neighborhood edgy and this being one of the reasons why they want to move there. However, the desire to move to the East Side of town for its weather is completely understandable.
The San Francisco Chronicle brought up a really good point when talking about the Mosqueda family. After their parents died, the best option regarding what to do with their childhood home was to sell it. The majority of the kids had already moved out of the city anyways because it was significantly cheaper elsewhere. I’ve seen happen first hand, but at the time didn’t really see what was going on. My next door neighbors were an older hispanic couple. The wife had passed a while ago and the husband passed maybe three years ago. Their kids who don’t live in the city decided to sell the house. Our new affluent, white neighbors lived in the same house for a year and are currently building a monstrosity of a single family home with a hot tub on the roof, cutting out a lot of our little victorian’s natural light. I’m worried that by the time I’m ready to raise a family and settle down, I won’t be able to afford my hometown and get priced out of my own city. But luckily my parents own our home which leaves an asset.
In the article Is Gentrification Ruining Los Angeles, or Saving It? Pick a Side, the headline is already problematic. Claiming if gentrification is ruining a city is controversial and instead the topic should raise an open conversation about the issue. This article also touches upon the notion that through gentrification diversity is encouraged. While, more upper class families may be moving into neighborhoods that are predominantly lower-income, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a neighborhood is becoming more diverse. Displacement can happen just as easily as a new family can afford to move into a newly renovated home.
