Negative Impacts Of Gentrification

The Negative Effects of Gentrification in Oakland

A very big loca issue in Oakland and The Bay Area is and has continued to be Gentrification. Gentrification is, “The process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste” (Google). Gentrification has displaced and continues to displace many low-income minorities. As prices of houses and rent costs have gone up many have been forced to flee. This has made this problem is increasingly recognized among my community as it has affected many of us. Gentrification is caused in order for higher income residents to move into a neighborhood. This topic matters because many people that live in Oakland or The Bay Area in general are low-income minorities,

We have struggled to find good housing that will be sustainable to house all five family members of mine but is still affordable. Due to gentrification we were forced to move out of our home since the rent prices skyrocketed. Luckily we were able to find a home that was more affordable although it is small housing for five people, it was the best we can find. Many others face this same problem and some have not been as lucky as my family to find another housing option near by. According to A Map of Gentrification In the Bay Area published by KQED News and written by Dan Brekke, “The crisis is not half over” — meaning that rising rents and home prices, along with an influx of more affluent people, increase the pressure on low-income people to move to the region’s outer suburbs.” It also states, “Fifty-three percent of of all low-income households in the region live in neighborhoods at risk of, or already experiencing, displacement.” These statistics are frightening and should not be taken lightly. This means that half of the Bay Area has already and if not it will experience displacement. This displacement can leave many homeless, and without any options of other affordable