GENTRIFICATION IN HARLEM
BY STUDENT
Nowadays gentrification has been the main topic in a lot of minorities communities. My neighborhood, Harlem has unfortunately already and is still going through the process of gentrification. Gentrification is defined as “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste.” According to the Oxford dictionary. As the definition explains most people see gentrification as a positive thing and that it is bettering the neighborhood. However, I disagree, I believe gentrification has negative effects on the people already leaving there. In this blog post I will be discussing the negative affects gentrifications has on Harlem.
Harlem has always been known as a majority black populated neighborhood and the mecca for blacks. This where the Harlem renaissance occurred, civil rights groups like the Black Panthers held their meetings. Where the Apollo theatre is located and where notable black figures have lived from Madam C.J walker to Malcom X. There was a point in time in history this was the place to live for Blacks whether they were poor or rich. Growing up in Harlem, you get to see the rich history that thrives in this neighborhood. Growing up in Manhattan taking the train as a kid you would see the racial segregation as you would go home from being downtown. Taking the 2/3 train home would notice how the more you go uptown the less Whites you would see on the train till once you get 96st on the train all there would be left is Blacks and Latinos.
Gentrification was slowly happening in my neighborhood, but I did not notice until middle school. Slowly empty lots started to become new expensive buildings. Small business that have been there since forever started to be closed down and being replaced by new franchise stores instead. At first it seemed like it could be a good thing because replacing these new lots with buildings made the neighborhood safer. However, people started to move out their homes because they could afford the rising rent. Those families were replaced by young adults and families who could afford them. Today is very common to see white families and white young adults living in Harlem and not just on Sundays during their tours. People moving into Harlem see it has a cultured place full of soul food restaurants and historical churches and art. But if all those people who make up the culture are forced to leave, will there still be culture? Relators create these projects that highlight the culture already present at the same time kick out the people that created this culture. This similar to the project mentioned in Time-Squaring of El Barrio, which mentions a project being developed called Uptown N.Y Project. It is a project to be developed in the most popular area of Harlem 125 to 127 St. It is described to include a Latin- themed culture component and include a “Latino -themed city” (Davila, Arlene. 2008). It makes you think about how they don’t want Blacks and Latinos there, but they want to use us for culture but do not want us present.
Sources:
Dávila, Arlene. 2008. “The Times-Squaring of El Barrio: On Mega-Projects, Spin, and ‘Community Consent’.” Latino Spin: Public Image and the Whitewashing of Race.
BY STUDENT
Nowadays gentrification has been the main topic in a lot of minorities communities. My neighborhood, Harlem has unfortunately already and is still going through the process of gentrification. Gentrification is defined as “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste.” According to the Oxford dictionary. As the definition explains most people see gentrification as a positive thing and that it is bettering the neighborhood. However, I disagree, I believe gentrification has negative effects on the people already leaving there. In this blog post I will be discussing the negative affects gentrifications has on Harlem.
Harlem has always been known as a majority black populated neighborhood and the mecca for blacks. This where the Harlem renaissance occurred, civil rights groups like the Black Panthers held their meetings. Where the Apollo theatre is located and where notable black figures have lived from Madam C.J walker to Malcom X. There was a point in time in history this was the place to live for Blacks whether they were poor or rich. Growing up in Harlem, you get to see the rich history that thrives in this neighborhood. Growing up in Manhattan taking the train as a kid you would see the racial segregation as you would go home from being downtown. Taking the 2/3 train home would notice how the more you go uptown the less Whites you would see on the train till once you get 96st on the train all there would be left is Blacks and Latinos.
Gentrification was slowly happening in my neighborhood, but I did not notice until middle school. Slowly empty lots started to become new expensive buildings. Small business that have been there since forever started to be closed down and being replaced by new franchise stores instead. At first it seemed like it could be a good thing because replacing these new lots with buildings made the neighborhood safer. However, people started to move out their homes because they could afford the rising rent. Those families were replaced by young adults and families who could afford them. Today is very common to see white families and white young adults living in Harlem and not just on Sundays during their tours. People moving into Harlem see it has a cultured place full of soul food restaurants and historical churches and art. But if all those people who make up the culture are forced to leave, will there still be culture? Relators create these projects that highlight the culture already present at the same time kick out the people that created this culture. This similar to the project mentioned in Time-Squaring of El Barrio, which mentions a project being developed called Uptown N.Y Project. It is a project to be developed in the most popular area of Harlem 125 to 127 St. It is described to include a Latin- themed culture component and include a “Latino -themed city” (Davila, Arlene. 2008). It makes you think about how they don’t want Blacks and Latinos there, but they want to use us for culture but do not want us present.
Sources:
Dávila, Arlene. 2008. “The Times-Squaring of El Barrio: On Mega-Projects, Spin, and ‘Community Consent’.” Latino Spin: Public Image and the Whitewashing of Race.
By the definition of the word, gentrification doesn't sound like a bad thing. Although the strategies used, and areas specifically targeted to achieve this goals where the issue lies. Why are predominantly black or latinx neighborhoods being targeted? Statistically there are more poor white people in this country than minorities, why are the poor white neighborhoods gentrified?
ReplyDeleteThis blog post reminds me of every time I go to the city, whenever I’m taking the train home from downtown I pay close attention to everyone who is still on the train as I get closer to The Bronx. This screamed racial segregation to me and I never started to notice I did this until I got to college let alone what racial segregation was. During my last year in high school they demolished the only church in my neighborhood, two and a half years later a brand new condo was built. It’s very tall and the exterior is made of glass so it looks really fancy, but it doesn’t match the aesthetics of the neighborhood."but if all those people who make up the culture are forced to leave, will there still be culture?" that's a great question. In my opinion these neighborhoods just become one big museum, filled with history but the people are gone.
ReplyDeleteGentrification definitely carries negative connotations. That being said, what are some ways our many communities, especially those directly affected, can combat the negativity of gentrification?
ReplyDelete