In the heart of Toronto lies a neighborhood rich in history, culture, and community. This unique neighborhood, located just east of the downtown area, is known as Cabbagetown. Cabbagetown is one of Toronto’s oldest communities, established in 1840. It is important to mention that several Indigenous peoples used to hunt, trade and gather wild rice on the site that today houses Cabbagetown. These people settled just east of the Don River and down the valley from Cabbagetown. Around the time of the Irish Potato Famine, the neighborhood started to become a residential area. In the 1840s and 1850s, the population of Toronto began to spread north and east along the Don River as a result of the massive number of Irish immigrants brought about by the …show more content…
Cabbagetown was home to many working class people for decades. However, in the 1970s, more wealthy residents began to buy up properties in the neighborhood (Hulchanski 2011). By 1983, the number of manufacturing jobs in the former city of Toronto had dropped to 47,303. Between 1959 and 1985, more than 36,000 manufacturing jobs were lost to the suburbs and other areas, leaving behind numerous abandoned and contaminated facilities near the waterfront and in south Cabbagetown. Meanwhile, central city employment in finance and other tertiary sectors continues to grow. Cabbagetown has been under threat of gentrification for decades now, being a neighborhood of the lower-class. According to Toronto.ca, the average household income in Cabbagetown is $41,016. The percentage of unsuitable housing is 22.9% and the percentage of unaffordable housing is 44% (Bocchinfuso 2022). Examining these numbers, Cabbagetown is one of the many neighborhoods in Toronto that gentrification might easily take over. Walking through the streets of Cabbagetown, there were multiple ‘for sale’ signs being displayed in the front of shops and houses. In 2022, a stretch of Parliament Street restaurants and buildings were sold for $16.5 million. Many residents of the neighborhood were concerned that given the size of the area, removing the strip of six well-known stores could have a negative
According to statistics canada Toronto in 2001, around 70% of the buildings in the area are high rise rental apartments but during the industrial era (1940’s ) most were private homes. Immigrants from countries such as the Philippines , Vietnam , Tamil, Chinese , Tibetan , Caribbeans and Hungarian have occupied parkdale since the 1980’s to present leading to the construction of these apartments with high storeys as seen in the census done in 2001. With high number of immigrants in the area increasing,Parkdale area soon developed a bad reputation as a neighbourhood of poverty, crime , drugs and homelessness These reputations led to segregation of neighbourhoods where the rich separated themselves, this happened on the basis of both of income and ethnicity.These is currently mainly occupied by minorities.Looking at the statistics in 2001 the top ten ethnicity living in this area were all immigrants with 20% arriving in Canada between 1980-1991 and other 25% arriving by 1991-2000 according to Ontario immigration data. 51% of these immigrants were born outside canada. Since it cost more to live in nicer neighbourhoods most immigrants end up in areas like parkdale where rent is cheap and other
Throughout this semester, our cultural anthropology class has discussed numerous ideas, norms and beliefs from various cultures to help us, as students, better understand the world around us. As part of our final project, we were assigned to read an ethnography book and relate the culture we learn about to the topics we have discussed in class. For this assignment, I chose to read an ethnography book written by Bruce C. Trigger and titled, The Huron: Farmers of the North.
Another noteworthy urban sociologist that’s invested significant research and time into gentrification is Saskia Sassen, among other topical analysis including globalization. “Gentrification was initially understood as the rehabilitation of decaying and low-income housing by middle-class outsiders in central cities. In the late 1970s a broader conceptualization of the process began to emerge, and by the early 1980s new scholarship had developed a far broader meaning of gentrification, linking it with processes of spatial, economic and social restructuring.” (Sassen 1991: 255). This account is an extract from an influential book that extended beyond the field of gentrification and summarizes its basis proficiently. In more recent and localized media, the release the documentary-film ‘In Jackson Heights’ portrayed the devastation that gentrification is causing as it plagues through Jackson Heights, Queens. One of the local businessmen interviewed is shop owner Don Tobon, stating "We live in a
There are many examples of cities reforming itself over time, one significant example is Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. More than a hundred years after the discovery of gold that drew thousands of migrants to Vancouver, the city has changed a lot, and so does one of its oldest community: Downtown Eastside. Began as a small town for workers that migrants frequently, after these workers moved away with all the money they have made, Downtown Eastside faced many hardships and changes. As a city, Vancouver gave much support to improve the area’s living quality and economics, known as a process called gentrification. But is this process really benefiting everyone living in Downtown Eastside? The answer is no. Gentrification towards DTES(Downtown Eastside) did not benefit the all the inhabitants of the area. Reasons are the new rent price of the area is much higher than before the gentrification, new businesses are not community-minded, and the old culture and lifestyle of the DTES is getting erased by the new residents.
“The Deeper Problems We Miss When We Attack ‘Gentrification’”exhibit their opinion on the positives of gentrification and the potential of “revitalization” in low-income urban communities. Badger argues that gentrification brings nothing more than further opportunities for urban communities while integrating citizens of different social classes.Furthermore , she continues to question if gentrification is in fact the monster that brings the prior expressions against gentrification where she says “If poor neighborhoods have historically suffered from dire disinvestment, how can the remedy to that evil — outside money finally flowing in — be the problem, too?”(Badger) Stating that the funds generated from sources external that are brought into these communities can’t be problematic. This concept is further elaborated in the article “Does Gentrification Harm the Poor” where Vigdoor list the potential positive enhancements gentrification can have on an urban area in America ,stating that gentrification can
Immigration to America from Europe was at an all time high in the mid-1800s. After the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s, a large group of Irish immigrated to the United States. Since then, increasing numbers of Irish people have been moving to the United States, especially in Chicago. The Irish had come to realize that the United States really is the land of opportunity. With jobs being available to the immigrants, many more shipped in to start new lives for their families. However, for quite a while they did not live in the nicest of areas in Chicago. Many of the Irish resided in low-class areas such as overcrowded parts around the Loop, and out in the West Side. Not only did the West Side shelter the Irish, but many Germans and Jews lived in that area.
According to Lehrer, U., & Wieditz, T. (2009), Toronto saw a massive population growth in a period of thirty years due to the extensive construction of high-rise condominium towers which led to the city being divided into three distinct cities: “city of the rich, the shrinking city of middle-income households, and the growing city of concentrated poverty.” According to the article the division is caused by the development of condominiums as the new form of gentrification which displaces the poor people and focuses to attract the higher-income people to the area.
African Americans were not the only residents of Seneca Village. European immigrants began to enter the neighborhood in the 1840’s. The potato famine in Ireland sent many Irish immigrants to New York. Thirty percent of the population of Seneca Village was mostly Irish and German. Records show that Europeans and African-Americans in the Village lived in harmony and attended church together and buried their dead in the same cemetery.
Gentrification is defined as the process by which the wealthy or upper middle class uproot poorer individuals through the renovation and rebuilding of poor neighborhoods. Many long-term residents find themselves no longer able to afford to live in an area, where the rent and property values are increasing. Gentrification is a very controversial topic, revealing both the positive and negative aspects of the process. Some of the more desirable outcomes include reduced crime rate, increased economic activity, and the building of new infrastructures. However, it is debated whether the negatives overwhelm the positive. An increase in the number of evictions of low-income families, often racial minorities can lead to a decline of diversity
The rezoning of 125th street has been a topic of controversy and has yet to be approved. The Department of City Planning believes rezoning of 125th street will bring positive economic changes. I personally believe that these changes would negatively affect the residents and business owners of Harlem. According to the New York City’s Planning Commission, the rezoning will bring new business and housing. Residents and business owners disagree because they believe this plays a bigger role in promoting further “gentrification.” I believe that Harlem should be able to keep its cultural heritage while still promoting and modifying economic growth.
In discussions of Gentrification, one controversial issue has been with displacement. Gentrification is the process of renovating and repairing a house or district so that it complies to wealthier residents (Biro, 2007, p. 42). Displacement is a result of gentrification, and is a major issue for lower income families. Gentrification is causing lower-income residents to move out of their apartments because they’re being displaced by upper class residents who can afford high rent prices and more successful businesses. Throughout out the essay, I will discuss how gentrification affects lower income residents and how it results in displacement. Then I will follow on by discussing some positive and negative effects that take place because of Gentrification.
Gentrification is described as the renovation of certain neighborhoods in order to accommodate to young workers and the middle-class. For an area to be considered gentrified, a neighborhood must meet a certain median home value and hold a percentage of adults earning Bachelor’s degree. Philadelphia’s gentrification rate is among the top in the nation; different neighborhoods have pushed for gentrification and have seen immense changes as a result. However, deciding on whether or not gentrification is a beneficial process can become complicated. Various groups of people believe that cities should implementing policy on advancing gentrification, and others believe that this process shouldn’t executed. Both sides are impacted by the decision to progress gentrification; it is unclear of the true implications of completely renovating impoverished urban areas; gentrification surely doesn’t solve all of a community’s issues. I personally believe that gentrification is not necessarily a good or bad process; gentrification should occur as a natural progression of innovative economies and novel lifestyles collide within certain areas. Policy involving gentrification should not support the removal of people out of their neighborhood for the sake of advancement.
Lance Freeman tackles the issue of gentrification from the perspectives of residents in the gentrified neighborhood. He criticizes the literature for overlooking the experiences of the victims of gentrification. The author argues that people’s conceptions on the issue are somewhat misinformed in that most people consider it as completely deplorable, whereas in reality, it benefits the community by promoting businesses, different types of stores, and cleaner streets. These benefits are even acknowledged by many residents in the gentrified neighborhood. However, the author admits that gentrification indeed does harm. Although gentrification does not equate to displacement per se, it serves to benefit primarily homeowners and harm the poor. Additionally,
Beginning in the 1960s, middle and upper class populations began moving out of the suburbs and back into urban areas. At first, this revitalization of urban areas was 'treated as a 'back to the city' movement of suburbanites, but recent research has shown it to be a much more complicated phenomenon' (Schwirian 96). This phenomenon was coined 'gentrification' by researcher Ruth Glass in 1964 to describe the residential movement of middle-class people into low-income areas of London (Zukin 131). More specifically, gentrification is the renovation of previously poor urban dwellings, typically into condominiums, aimed at upper and middle class professionals. Since the 1960s, gentrification has appeared in large cities such as Washington D.C., San Francisco, and New York. This trend among typically young, white, upper-middle class working professionals back into the city has caused much controversy (Schwirian 96). The arguments for and against gentrification will be examined in this paper.
Gentrification is the keystone for the progression of the basic standards of living in urban environments. A prerequisite for the advancement of urban areas is an improvement of housing, dining, and general social services. One of the most revered and illustrious examples of gentrification in an urban setting is New York City. New York City’s gentrification projects are seen as a model for gentrification for not only America, but also the rest of the world. Gentrification in an urban setting is much more complex and has deeper ramifications than seen at face value. With changes in housing, modifications to the quality of life in the surrounding area must be considered as well. Constant lifestyle changes in a community can push out life-time