Gentrification and Racial Tensions: An Analysis

Racial Blaming of Gentrification In a person’s life span there are and will be many moments of struggle. And often when people are at their lowest point in their lives they seek to blame the struggle on the first person or thing that is the easiest to point the finger at. Like, In such a case as Gentrification. Individuals that have experienced displacement because of Gentrification commonly turn their anger towards the individuals occupying their neighborhood. This process alone can cause an excessive level of racial tension, typically because the deteriorated areas are populated with African Americans and the people moving into the community are usually White. The obvious objective would be to blame the individuals moving in and occupying

But many interviews from residents experiencing Gentrification say otherwise. In some cities there are people being asked and bribed to leave by landlords so they can make room for wealthier renters who are willing to pay two times the price just to live in the city. Take for instance Brooklyn, NY. The low income residents are escaping raising rents and going farther east. Rachel Cruz, a former resident was offered a 10,000 buyout by her landlord to move and make room for the current higher earning income residents. Unlike Rachel there are also some residents who refuse to move and face the consequences of being treated unfairly when it comes to the quality of

When their neighborhood starts changing and all these luxury homes are being built for the wealthier residents, you can have a lot of racial tension. Although the Upper class residents do occupy these newly renovated places, they are not to blame for it. Policy makers encourage gentrification more than they oppose it. To the Government it increases property taxes, and boost the economy. Ronnie Flores states; “[…] Success is measured not by how well people are accommodated, but how much profit can be made’’. It can be discouraging when Policy makers seem to be on the opposite side of what these longtime residents want to prevent or at least co-exist with. Investors and developers are always on the lookout for areas where they can buy cheap and reap the profits. Not once keeping in the mind the effects it can have on the current residents who built this city life that draws so much attention to it. Displacement by Gentrification is difficult to take head on because of the simple fact that it is profit driven. To get results you have to have money, that is why the Investors and Developers can develop so much in such little time. How can we address this problem that seems to be unjust to the working class? Change begins when individuals stop blaming their struggle on the opposite race and get to the