“Displacement is a crucial issue, causing homelessness.”
Although the purpose of gentrification is to upgrade the deteriorated or devalued properties for improving the infrastructures, it overlooks the affliction of gentrified neighborhoods. Gentrification targets middle-class and lower-class areas and pushes tenants out of communities. Restoration has positive and negative consequences while the adverse impacts in most cases involve stress, depression, and displacement.
The socio-economic differences remain the primary concerns of the issue. African-Americans claims that displacement acted more in favor of whites as they moved from suburbs to the central city areas. A massive movement of wealthy and upper-class groups to first city areas promoted the concept of gentrification. The influx of upper strata to more developed regions influenced the neighborhoods as property values increased enormously. Gentrification threatens the conditions of poor more than other groups because they remain vulnerable to displacement.
Disadvantages of Gentrification
The major drawback of gentrification is a high cost of living as it increases the eminent power of landlords to charge low rents. The constitution acknowledged that the state could displace neighborhoods if they take property for public use and offer just compensation to the gentrified. However, the state never provided adequate reimbursements resulting in the disadvantage of deprived.
The effects are not favorable for the poor in many cases as it occurs in demographic change and radical shifts. The most visible negative consequences include high property pricing, evictions, and displacements. The American state argues that upscaling new entrants in urban areas involve economic advantages for the people such as bringing more jobs, investments, and generation of tax revenues. The state collects taxes from the urban settlers and rich that provide funds for social services availed by masses.
The practical implications of displacement on gentrified neighborhoods are adverse. During 2005 the probability of gentrification faced by each household was 1.3 percent however the increased rate of inflation declined the chances of gentrification in future. Another problem faced by the households was their movement to gentrifying areas.
The government did not move the displaced populations to non-gentrifying areas thus eliminating possibilities of having permanent residence. Gentrified areas contain diversified people as they belong to different backgrounds and cultures. People in non-gentrifying areas represent upper strata and are less vulnerable to gentrification. It made neighborhoods racially more diverse.
However, the educational diversity was same in the gentrified and non-gentrified areas. Landlord harassment was also identified as a common problem experienced by low-income households. Even the neighborhood income gains did not influence the housing exit rates. The impact of gentrification on black neighborhoods changed according to their educational levels.
It provided labor, work and employment to the deprived communities. The movement of rich people to urban areas affected the old residents reflected through pressures of surviving with increasing costs. It increased costs of living in urban areas that forced middle-income households to move to affordable locations.
Displacement represents the worst example of gentrification as it pushes working-class out of neighborhoods. When it comes to the poor, gentrification never improved the lifestyles as people continued to struggle with poverty.
It affects the social and financial aspects of deprived families. Due to high pricing of houses, they are already under economic pressures, paying for the education of their children becomes more difficult. Fewer resources are available for the low-income families leading to long-term displacement.
Advantages of Gentrification
Gentrification provides more benefits to the landlords as they control the pricing that affects the poor and middle-class neighborhoods. Displacement is more adverse for the poor Americans as it forcefully dislocates them. The benefits associated with increased property tax provoke landlords to raise rents thus allowing them to earn profits. High profits of the landlords again negatively affect the poor.
Majority when finding challenging to pay the rents to move to affordable houses while it is difficult for the poor to find appropriate housing. Gentrifying neighborhood affects others neighborhoods and housing units. It also influenced the lives of white people negatively as people belonging to middle and low-income groups moved to the black areas. The state through gentrification failed to provide affordable housing to the masses exhibiting the negative implications.
Black people remain victims of movement because high demands for housing give eviction power to the landlords. They are also motivated to use egregious practices for escalating rental prices. Gentrification did not improve the safety in case of poor who failed to find housing in non-gentrifying neighborhoods.
Gentrification pushed working class on outskirts of gentrified neighborhoods. It affects the school years of children declining their academic performance. Benefits such as facilities and amenities remain within the middle and upper class. Gentrification also deteriorates the mental health of displaced tenants apparent in high levels of stress and anxiety. The overall analysis of gentrification and its impacts on community depicts it results in racial diversity and class division.