BY S.H.
I
grew up in a very small county, Sullivan County, and all my life I have considered
it a very close-knit community. I felt as though everyone knew each other, all
the businesses were small and family owned, and everything had a good sense of fellowship
and cooperation. Recently, Sullivan County has been subject to some serious
gentrification. Don’t get me wrong. I am all for bringing new ideas, people and
experiences into the small little county that I love. With that being said,
however, I do not believe that development should be done at the expense of
people’s careers, their families, and their friends. The gentrification
currently happening in Sullivan County is impacting the Latino minority
immensely. Many of the areas that are being bought-out, and built into casinos
and water parks are being taken specifically from the Latino minority. These
areas were Latino-owned restaurants, flower markets, and stores. With all the
gentrification happening, the unemployment rate of the Latino population has
increased greatly in Sullivan County (Data USA). However, that did not stop the
people in my county (specifically in Liberty, which is where I grew up) from
showing their support for the Latino community.
Henri
Lefebvre is responsible for coining the term “counter-spaces.” In his book, The Production of Space, Lefebvre defines counter spaces as “a
place of enjoyment designed to thwart strategies, plans, and programs imposed
from above” (Lefebvre 383). The creation of “counter-spaces” is exactly how my
community decided to voice their overwhelming concerns for the gentrification
of our home and the lack of concern for the Latino community. My community made
a park, called Lapolt Park, as a “safe-space” for the Latino Community. “Lapolt”
means “power” or “inspiration.” The park is located next to a little river, and
contains picnic benches, tables, a small playground, and a small stage for
entertainment purposes. Lapolt park is locating in the center of where the majority
of the Latino population resides and serves as symbol to remind them that they
are not alone. The park represents the unity that our community has.
Lefebvre
goes on to state “the quest for a “counter-space” overwhelms the supposedly
ironclad distinction between reform and revolution” and that “any proposal
along these lines, even the most seemingly insignificant, shakes existing space
to its foundations.” Lefebvre explains lack of action to create counter-spaces
by the idea that “consumers sense that the slightest shift on their part can
have boundless consequences” (Lefebvre 383-384). By creating Lapolt Park, my
community created a “remedy” for all the gentrification occurring. Lapolt park was
a reminder to my community of our close ties and our efforts to restore what we
all call home. My community decided that these “boundless” consequences were
worth it and have made the first step towards reform. Seeing my community come
together and show support for one another makes me proud to be where I’m from
and makes me excited to see what changes and movements are going to be next.
Works Cited
Lefebvre, Henri. The
Production of Space. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2016. Print.
"Sullivan County,
NY." Data USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2017.
<https://datausa.io/profile/geo/sullivan-county-ny/#health>.>
I love how your blogpost ties back to the sense of community! I believe it is very important to create support from people around you. It was great to hear that the Latino population developed a movement as a result of all the gentrification occurring in your hometown. Everyone coming together really does make a difference and impact on the Latino population.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you,my town is relatively small and I'm all for adding new things to it. However, when that change comes at the expense of the gentrification of another group of people it becomes an issue. Counter spaces are a notorious and successful way to gain notoriety on an issue. I really like how such a close knit town was able to come together and mutually decide to do this. Apart from this, many places act upon the idea of the lack of creating counterspaces which Lefebrve talked about. I know of many cases where close knit towns do the complete opposite and let the gentrification continue, for fear of change. Wonderful piece.
ReplyDeleteI think that the way that you tied your specific community with the lessons that we learned in class was done in a very educated manner. You were able to explain the way that you see your county being gentrified and how it's impacting the Latino community in that area. I also think that since your county was able to identify the ways in which they were affecting the Latino community it will be much easier to be proactive and help stop the further downfall of the Latino community in your area.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blogspot because it was so interesting to know how Sullivan county has a safe space for Latinos. Being from New York City there is a lot of diversity, in each borough you're able to see multiple concentration of cultures in each borough. Although there is still racism and separation in NYC, it is not seen as often as places as Sullivan County. The Lapolt Park reminds me of the Chicano Park movement and it is interesting to see how history continues to repeat itself in different generations.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you related the material in the course regarding gentrification and counter spaces back to your own personal life. Its great that you value your community and the businesses that were established there by your Latino community. Most people our age fail to acknowledge the dynamic of their town, so the fact that you are able to identify what exactly is going on in your community is refreshing!
ReplyDeleteIt's terrible to hear how companies are taking away from the people of your county to create unnecessary spaces that aren't even going to help the community. But your community's response was brilliant in building a park which is something everybody can benefit from having.
ReplyDeleteits disappointing how gentrification of your town is taking away from the latino community but creating a counter space as the park the community made to reinstill the cultural of the Latino community that has been taken away gives me hope. I like how the park that was built in your town can be related to what happened in California with Chicano Park and how it benefits the community.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading your post, I didn't have any idea what communities can do to go against gentrification. I like your unbias standpoint by saying you are all for new ideas and experiences, but gentrification where it dismantles an embedded Latino community is immoral. The park is very interesting to me because now I see what some communities can do to voice their opinions and to counteract gentrification.
ReplyDeleteI really loved your post. It was interesting to see your unbiased opinion on gentrification. However, I liked that you brought it to a micro- level of what gentrification is actually doing to your community and how your community is fighting back. Also it was a good idea on defining counter space again, in your blog post, since some people could have forgotten what that actually meant. I'm glad your community is finding ways to fight back against gentrification, I wish you luck.
ReplyDeleteI really loved how personal your post was. I thought it was extremely interesting and much easier to relate to when you spoke about how gentrification is affecting your own community. I also thought it was great how you discussed how your community is fighting back. The mention of your park really made me think of the Chicano Park Movement. I hope your community continues to come together and work it out!
ReplyDeleteI greatly enjoyed reading about the personal annotation of your blogpost. I found it interesting about the type of gentrification taking place in your neighborhood. Instead of the children of suburbanites its commercial development. The removal of Latin business probably hindered the social mobility of some residents
ReplyDelete