The Influx of Hipsters and Gentrification of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District
WHO/WHAT are you writing about?
Despite the early success of the “slow-growth antiregime,” that teamed government officials, investors and neighborhood grass roots organizations in directing the development of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, these efforts were unsuccessful in modifying the gentrification of this geographically desirable, but poverty stricken section of the city (Robinson 484, 505). The Tenderloin, which had been plagued by drug epidemics, crime, and homelessness, has experienced a gentrification, which may be defined as “the transformation of a poor neighborhood by changes in population characteristics and/or changes in land uses” (Palen
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and London 1984). This gentrification has coincided with the Bay area’s tech and real estate boom, and attracted hipsters and tech companies alike to this area of the city. Companies are drawn to the Tenderloin’s available space, access to qualified employees, and tax breaks implemented by the city in 2011 to lure businesses to the area (Levy), Meanwhile, this gentrification has seen approximately “11,000” hipsters/techies relocating to this “trendy area” (Levy, Carroll). (1 sentence or 2? And do you want to use the term hipsters/techies?) These hipsters are rather difficult to define, as they will not self-identify. Therefore, when I mention the term hipsters, I am referring to what I perceive to be as someone who is generally white, liberal and privileged, and enjoys things like indie music, fine foods and artisanal cocktails (Kauanui). A hipster is also someone who would consider his or her self a cultural pioneer who is actively seeking new trends. For instance, hipsters want to be the first to do something, the first to discover a piece of land similar to colonialism, even though this land had existed and had been occupied before they had arrived. (is this too akwd to put in?). Hipsters’ recent relocation to the Tenderloin has created a need for upscale restaurants and housing, to which area businesses have responded. In 2016 and 2017, such notables as Saratoga (affiliated with the renowned Spruce Restaurant), Biig and Rum and Sugar all opened in the Tenderloin (Mamoon). There has also been a surge in the luxury housing sector, with numerous apartment buildings opening in the Tenderloin and an average rental increase of “36% last year” (Boyer). Between expensive cuisine, artisanal cocktail bars, and a growing white, wealthy population, the Tenderloin has turned into hipsterville, due to the influx of the tech companies and its ideal geographic location (Robinson 489). While the Tenderloin use to be a dangerous neighborhood, besieged by crime, drugs and homelessness, it has been reconstructed into a gentrified, hipster society, complete with techies, artisanal cocktail bars and expensive cuisine. In my mind the tenderloin has turned into hipsterville, leaving little room for the minorities and low-income residents of the area. While this gentrification has largely attracted affluent hipsters and companies to the Tenderloin, it has also displaced numerous former residents, who were minorities and immigrants living below the poverty level (Mission and History). WHY (WHY is that particular focus important?) The gentrification of the Tenderloin presents a question of the rights of the affluent hipsters in acquiring and transforming an area, versus the rights of the long-time residents, who lack the funds to remain in their neighborhoods after this transition.
This issue is also impacted by city officials, who wield considerable power in urban development, and live in fear of “capital flight” (Robinson 484, 506). Consequently, San Francisco’s officials are catering to the business community. This expansion can be viewed as advancing the economic structure of the city, or as a detriment to the most marginalized of its inhabitants. Such a dilemma is evident in the film, Boom! The Sound of Eviction, where one sees Mayor Ed Lee celebrating San Francisco’s tech boom and gentrification, but basically ignoring the effects of gentrification on low income families displaced from their homes. These injustices are also evident in Nancy Raquel Mirabal’s histories of the San Francisco Latino communities, which gives first-hand accounts of the gentrification and its effects on their lives. While these examples of economically advantaged hipsters displacing lower income minorities are extremely troubling, this trend could possibly be mitigated by San Francisco’s long history of social activism, coupled with economic commitments from the city and industries. For example, “six companies have signed community benefit agreements, or CBAs, outlining their planned volunteers, investing and philanthropic activities. [These projects] include housing advocacy, education for kids, working with groups such as the Boys and Girls Club and SF Food Bank and $3 million in grants to nonprofits over the next four years” (Levy). This begets the question, will the gentrification of the Tenderloin be able to attract businesses and hipsters, while being able to help the disadvantaged residents of the area? University of San Francisco Professor John Stehlin, believes that gentrification can indeed
produce an environment that reduces commodification and encompasses the arts and a diverse population. More specifically, when gentrification is guided through public policy, government and private investments, it can result in an atmosphere that values diversity and the arts. This belief is shared by Stannard-Friel, the author of Street Teaching in the Tenderlon, who feels that the transformation can provide an environment where its inhabitants can thrive, similar to Toronto, where gentrification and low income individuals not only coexist, but flourish (Cowen 22). However, not everyone shares that same optimistic perspective. Some wonder if the gentrification of the Tenderloin is just another example of “San Francisco Planning and Urban Renewal Association’s…vision” that sees the city’s ability to attract businesses will result in a population of “standard White Anglo-Saxon Protestant{s},” and leaves little room for low income families, who will be unable to afford this “new development” (Robinson 488). WHEN (in terms of time period?) Until 2011, the Tenderloin was considered one of the most crime ridden and dangerous areas of the city, with a pronounced drug trade and homelessness. However, this changed in 2011, when San Francisco implemented tax breaks for “any company with annual payroll expenses of at least $1 million that agreed to open on Market between Sixth and 11th streets and some surrounding blocks” (Levy). These tax breaks were significant and could equal “$56 million just for Twitter” (Levy). Hence, the availability of corporate space, coupled with the tax savings, lured companies such as “Twitter…Yammer, Spotify, Square and Zendesk” to the area (Hardy). With this influx of tech companies, also came the hipsters, and the accompanying required upscale coffee shops, restaurants, and housing. This transition is still occurring, with numerous renowned restaurants opening in 2016 and 2017, as well as “boutique hotels…theaters, parks and a grocery store” (Levy). There are also multiple apartment buildings slated to open and a “$400 million plan to improve transit and make the area bike and pedestrian friendly” (Levy). The fact that the city plans to make the Tenderloin bike and pedestrian friendly is ironic, given that until recently, people were afraid to even venture into the area. WHERE, in terms of institution/ community/location/region? The Tenderloin is an area in San Francisco “bordered by Geary Street to the north, Market Street to the south, and Mason Street and Van Ness Avenue to the east and west respectively” (Tischer). It is rumored to have gotten its name from “Police Captain Alexander S. Williams around 1931… when corruption was rife in the area, and it was said that officers who accepted bribes could then afford more expensive cuts of beef [i.e. tenderloin] for their dinner tables” (Tischer). It is also an area with a colorful, vibrant history of clubs where people like “Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck played,” and groups like the “Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young” recorded albums (Tischer). The Tenderloin also has a powerful LGBTQ community and a strong sense of social consciousness. In addition, the community has been home to a large immigrant population, many who were drawn to the area’s subsidized housing (Stannard). However, this section of San Francisco has also been plagued by extensive drug use, crime, economic disparity and homelessness (Stannard). As detailed in Robinson’s expose, “as redevelopment and rising rents eliminated low-income housing units across the city, the deteriorated Tenderloin absorbed the displaced. Accordingly, the Tenderloin population [grew] over 20%...absorbing the highest concentration of the impoverished, the service dependent, the drug addicted and the criminal” (Robinson 487). While these statistics certainly paints a grim picture of the Tenderloin, one cannot overlook the attributes of this area. The Tenderloin is a geographically desirable area, bordering the highly desirable South of Market area (SOMA), and is seen as “one of the last underdeveloped areas within striking distance of corporate downtown” (Robinson 489). This location, coupled with the tax incentives provided by the city in 2011, enabled the gentrification of the Tenderloin to commence. HOW, as in what research methods will you use to complete the project and why? I will be looking (exploring? examining?) at academic journal articles about how hipsters relate to gentrification, primary sources on the Tenderloin’s history, monograph books about the Tenderloin District, edited volumes, and carefully selected online resources. I will also be looking at articles, books and other sources that tell the history of the tenderloin from when it was known as being a criminal area till the present, where it is considered a place of artisanal cuisine and a neighborhood for techies (or hipsters?). When examining the Tenderloin as a place of gentrification, I will be exploring popular hot spots through the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Magazine, Wired and other well-known publications. The Tenderloin also has a museum, which includes “historic buildings, stories of famous residents and visitors, and the sites where some of San Francisco's most important activist movements were born” (Mission and History). Since I am not in San Francisco I think it could be really valuable if I could interview a tour guide over the phone and learn a little bit more about the history from a tour guide’s perspective. In all, I hope my research will address whether the Tenderloin will be just another gentrified city, where the hipsters displace the residents, or if it can achieve a balance, that promotes diversity and economic stability for all?
The Bullfrog Valley gang was a notorious counterfeiting ring that operated in the wilderness of Pope County during the depression of the 1890’s.The gang’s origin and and methods were mysterious, but the New York Times reported ist demise on June 28, 1897.The remote valley, which follows Big Piney Creek from Long Pool to Booger Hollow, was named for Chief Bullfrog, a Cherokee Who, according to legend, settled there after his tribe’s forced removal from Georgia (the Trail of Tears by the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Bullfrog Valley, an unincorporated community not typically recognized on current Arkansas state maps, is located along the Big Piney Creek near the community of Silex. According to Dumas, historically the
In Barbara Berlund’s Making San Francisco American: Cultural Frontiers in the Urban West, Berlund explains how San Francisco grew from a young settlement which grew rapidly thanks to in part of the California Gold Rush which took place in 1949. Of course with the growing of this small settlement came it’s conflicts and how it rised to where it stands present day. A primary factor which helped San Francisco flourish a ton was the influence from those who had power and chose what would happen throughout the city, for example the Big 4. Those who were wealthy did not make this city what it is today without the help of people who made up the middle class as well. Every establishment within this city set the social order as to how the inhabitants of San Francisco would go about their life in society.
“Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture.” (Grant) In layman’s terms, gentrification is when white people move to a black neighborhood for the sake of cheaper living, and in turn, raise up property values and force black neighbors to leave because of a higher price of living. Commonly, the government supports gentrification with the demolition of public housing in areas that are developing with more white neighbors. This is causing a decreasing amount of African Americans to be able to afford to live in the neighborhood as their homes are taken away from them, forcing them to relocate. Whilst gentrification normally has negative connotations, there are several people who believe gentrification brings about “an upward trend in property values in previously neglected neighborhoods.” (Jerzyk) On the other hand, this new trend in property value and business causes those...
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
This text also persuades readers about how race is an issue of gentrification. The author’s claims on the issues show that gentrification is mainly influenced by race and income. The writer wrote the text also to show how the media can be influential to be discouraging poor colored communities, criticizing the views on gentrification in those areas. There are some persuasive appeals that are supported by the author in the text. The first is Ethos, he is a credible source in his claims retelling his own experience as a paramedic and how his patient impacted his criticism on how the media portrays the “hood” as being atrocious and worthless in the community. The author also attempts to convince his readers through his own emotions, including specific evidence and claims for his appeals. The second persuasive appeal used is pathos when he explains how these communities are dealt with moving place to place being invaded from their own residence and businesses. The third persuasive appeals he presents is logos, which he describes the situation of the the people being affected by this issue first hand to show the reader it is a mistaken
Furthermore, he attempts to dispel the negative aspects of gentrification by pointing out how some of them are nonexistent. To accomplish this, Turman exemplifies how gentrification could positively impact neighborhoods like Third Ward (a ‘dangerous’ neighborhood in Houston, Texas). Throughout the article, Turman provides copious examples of how gentrification can positively change urban communities, expressing that “gentrification can produce desirable effects upon a community such as a reduced crime rate, investment in the infrastructure of an area and increased economic activity in neighborhoods which gentrify”. Furthermore, he opportunistically uses the Third Ward as an example, which he describes as “the 15th most dangerous neighborhood in the country” and “synonymous with crime”, as an example of an area that could “need the change that gentrification provides”.
This housing affordability crisis is stripping away it’s diversity at increasing rates and I feel that not enough is being done to restore it. Liz Pfeffer article “Is the Bay Area in a Housing Bubble or a Crisis?” describes the situation as, “San Francisco’s chronic problem is a lack of housing for middle and lower-income people. It’s not that they can’t afford it, it’s that it doesn’t exist”. Officials should collaborate on creating solutions to the root causes and offer alternatives that would release some of the pressure. I would suggest promoting micro-homes or smaller scaled homes, limiting foreign investors’s purchases of single-family homes, or expanding campuses of employers to areas that are not heavily populated. It is not too late to restore the balance but it will take collaboration and team work. I am urging these officials and activists to try and save the beloved culture of this area and help retain it as a place where social justice is recognized and
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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.
This paper will discuss the many unique aspects of Oakland, California. Divided into five major parts, Oakland is a very diverse city. The five major parts include: Downtown Oakland which is located in the heart of the city, East Oakland which consists of the majority of the city, West Oakland, North Oakland, and the Oakland hills where the terrain is quite different from other parts of the city. While many may perceive the population to mainly consist of African Americans and Whites, there is a significant growing population of Latinos, and Asians. The topics covered in this paper will shed light on the city of Oakland itself, and discuss the unique city that it is. I will also give my personal experience and perception on the city, after living there for 16 years of my life.
Most Angelinos know that Dodger Stadium was once Chavez Ravine, a quiet and independent hillside neighborhood. Most would also agree that Dodger Stadium is an appropriate progression for an area known and designated as a slum. However, what most citizens do not realize is the designation of Chavez Ravine as a slum served merely as a cover-up for the city's own agenda of modernization through the vehicle of politics. The Community's identity as a quiet hillside neighborhood was ultimately shattered in the wake of the 1949 Housing Act under modern urban planning and the larger realm of politics during an era of intense anti-communist sentiment. This paper will argue that those aforementioned themes as the reason f...
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,
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
Gentrification is a highly important topic that has not only been occurring all over the United States, but especially closer than we may have thought. San Francisco is home to hundreds of thousands of people who have been a part of how amazing this city has become. San Francisco is one of the most visited places in the world with many of its famous landmarks, endless opportunities not only for daytime fun but also has an amazing nightlife that people cannot get enough of. People come for a great time and could not be done without the help of the people who have grown up to experience and love this city for what it truly is. The cost of living in such an important city has definitely had its affect of lower income San Francisco residents. For decades we have seen changes occurring in parts of San Francisco where minorities live. We have seen this in Chinatown, SOMA, Fillmore district, and especially the Mission district.