The Causes Of Gentrification

Gentrification is not about race, yet it is dressed up to be. Gentrification at its core is about new companies coming and old local stores being replaced. A more complex analysis would be that; gentrification has a significant effect and shifts on people of low-income residencies with a diverse population being replaced by primarily wealthy white residents. This causes a rift towards small and local business, culture and aesthetic of neighborhoods with the changes of new coming residents raising housing cost and ultramodern companies.(Leonard 2013) Despite the main cause of gentrification being new companies moving into low-income diverse neighborhoods. It is not portrayed in such fashion, but rather portrayed as the displacement of minorities.

Killer Mike, an African American rapper and activist who did not have a silver spoon in his mouth said: “People tend to think of gentrification in terms of race because it's presented that way, and I think it's presented as such, because in poor cities that's what's really going on. Beyond that, I think it's presented that way as a way for the people who are really pushing it to make it just a black problem, so people don't care.” He explains that if people or companies make the whole of gentrification being a “race problem,’’ could numb the public to learning about this situation. This type of stereotyping adds fuel to the fire of minorities and not everyone who is low-income is of color. That is why we should avoid making it a race issue. Yes, it has a role, but displacement can personally damage any family, prompting the exceptionally expensive process of moving for those who can least afford it. Gentrification indeed causes financial problems for residents, but cities and landlords benefit from this trend as it allows them to implement improvements from rising property value. In reality, it is the city governments who receive the most benefit at the expense of residents going homeless.

Furthermore-- Brown did, in fact, build new homes in an abandoned part of Oakland. A part where there was a ghost shell of culture in that specific area as well as profit coming from that part of Oakland. A photographer by the name of Derek Ridgers had an interesting take to cities who make improvements in areas with mostly minorities “It's more about subtracting every single buck from the tourists that still flock there. Gentrification and the need for developers to maximize their profits from every square inch of the place means that there just aren't any scruffy little basement clubs left. Those scruffy little basement clubs were the area's lifeblood. Now, it's all penthouse flats and global brands. They destroyed the very thing that drew people there in the first place - it's superficial sleaziness.” Regardless of his negative perspective at the end of his explanation--the cities would be seen a fake, due to those changes the cities make for the city gain profit from those who come from all over to see the city. “Had we had something during the period of the economic boom, I’m not sure it would’ve dissuaded people from developing because Oakland was still such a deal. It seemed like a natural win-win.”(Elinson 2010) in view of the fact that Oakland still was not seen as a popular tourist attraction such as Emeryville or San Francisco to name a few notable cities.