As with most major metropolitan areas urban sprawl has become an issue with Irvine, California being no exception. Byproducts of sprawl include an increase in jobs, increases in population density, increased traffic, and increased housing costs. I selected the affordable housing policies of the City of Irvine in my paper. Due to the high cost of housing in Irvine, the city has faced lawsuits and other challenges in providing housing for low income earners. The master planned city of Irvine can attribute much of its success to Jessie Clyde Nichols and his suburban Country Club District in Kansas City, Missouri, which was” considered at the time to be the beautiful suburb in the nation. Nichols appealed to his wealthy clientele with extraordinary …show more content…
aesthetics” (Judd and Swanstrom 2015, 256). Irvine like the Country Club District appeals to the wealthy, with home owner associations replacing deed restrictions, specifying mandatory requirements includes exterior colors and style of houses. Unlike Nichols deed restrictions defining who could live in the community, Irvine’s homeownership is shaped by affordability. Irvine has a median home value of $768,100. This is in comparison to the United States median home value of $184,000, and for California and Orange County with values of $456,800 and $644,300 respectively. (Orange County Home Prices & Values 2016). According to the Center for Housing Policy in the third quarter of 2006 a buyer may need an annual salary of $212,447 “to buy the typical O.C. home priced at $626,000…local renters would have to make $22.33 an hour to afford the $1,161 monthly rent for a one-bedroom O.C. apartment and pay only 30 percent of their income to the landlord. A two-bedroom pad ($1,392) means a raise to $26.77 an hour” (Orange County Home Prices & Values 2016). Irvine’s sprawl continues its suburban encroachment into any and all available land, responding to a growing demand for housing exceeded only by the prices they command. My interest in Irvine’s affordable housing begun with a conversation about twenty-years ago with the late Irvine Councilman Dave Christensen regarding this particular issue and how the city would address it.
Dave served on Irvine’s council from 1996 to 2000, and at that time also served on the Irvine Redevelopment Agency which was later dissolved by the State legislature in 2011. Prior to that the Redevelopment Agency was the agency primarily responsible for affordable housing, its successor is the Irvine City Council. My initial interest was piqued when the city’s population was about 140,000 and the median home price was about $300,000. The city’s population is roughly twice that now with median home values about 2.5 times the late …show more content…
1990s. The city has faced several lawsuit regarding its affordable housing practices starting in 1975 when “housing advocates in southern California sued the still-brand new City of Irvine. The Irvine Company, the private development company responsible for the city's planning and construction, was preparing to build office and industrial parks that would make Irvine a major regional employment center. But Orange County's tracts of ranch houses didn't offer reasonable housing options for the people who would work in the newly created jobs” (Jacobus and Brown 2007). Then again in January, 1981 Betty Sue Stocks et al sued the City of Irvine based on: Their positions as low income citizens of Los Angeles and Orange Counties who would like to live in Irvine if they could find affordable housing there…The complaint alleges that because of its substantial industrial development, the City of Irvine has become one of the major employment centers in southern California; that this development has led to the creation of thousands of jobs that are being filled or could be filled by persons of low and moderate income; and that this has created an enormous need for moderate and low-cost housing within the city which has been exacerbated by the existing critical shortage of such housing throughout southern California. (Justia US Law 2015). They further claim damage due to what they believe to be Irvine's illegal zoning and land use regulations. It is important to have affordable housing in Irvine and surrounding communities not only so that those who work in the city will be able to live there, but also those that grew up in the city will be able to live and raise their children in the same community.
The City of Irvine acknowledges that the cost of housing is very high in Orange County and that: Many households who work in Irvine found it nearly impossible to buy or rent homes in Irvine. This not only affects the current economics of the city but the future as well. Many young educated professionals are faced with the choice to either move out of state or continue to work in Irvine but live in the Inland Empire areas of Riverside and San Bernardino where housing is much more affordable. However, this causes greater strains on the existing regional transportation system and longer commutes (Eliason and Trauth 2006). According to HUD, a household should spend no more than 30% of its income on housing. This means that families earning $50,000 annually should be paying no than $1500 per month on housing. Despite earning twice the Federal Poverty Level when factoring housing, food, transportation, and medical costs many Orange County residents could find themselves living in “suburban poverty.” Findings have shown that “three-quarters of parents who pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent or mortgage have had to make major sacrifices to afford the cost. So have a large majority of African American and Hispanic
households” (Poethig 2014). Irvine’s desirability and its rapid growth as a master planned community confronts many of the problems most major metropolitan areas are faced with. Problems that include population density, increased traffic, and increased housing costs are some of the issues related to Irvine’s sprawl. The city has one of the highest housing cost in Southern California, which makes affordable housing a major issue and one of particular interest to myself for the last two decades. Several lawsuits have underscored the need for affordable housing for the city’s wage earners. The city has also made note of the affects the issue has on its own economy as well as causing strain on nearby communities. The housing problems facing Irvine and the rest of Orange are absorbing a large portion of resident’s income forcing more suburban families into poverty.
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”.
... motivation for wealthy individuals to return to the inner-city core but it also provides impetus for commercial and retail mixed-use to follow, increasing local revenue for cities (Duany, 2001). Proponents of gentrification profess that this increase in municipal revenue from sales and property taxes allows for the funding of city improvements, in the form of job opportunities, improved schools and parks, retail markets and increased sense of security and safety ((Davidson (2009), Ellen & O’Reagan (2007), Formoso et. al (2010)). Due to the increase in housing and private rental prices and the general decrease of the affordable housing stock in gentrifying areas, financially-precarious communities such as the elderly, female-headed households, and blue-collar workers can no longer afford to live in newly developed spaces ((Schill & Nathan (1983), Atkinson, (2000)).
...nt of $764 and a staggering 43% cannot afford to purchase an average priced home ($140,422). With that being said, over 8,000 families are on waiting lists for subsidized and affordable housing. Many things can prevent someone from housing such as poor credit histories, unresolved debts, and criminal backgrounds. Without affordable child care or dependable transportation, families have a greater challenge of moving towards autonomy.
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
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 investigation is based on the assumption that gentrification with all its troubles can’t be prevented and is an inherent part of every city. What are the negative impacts of gentrification? What are the underlying mechanisms that feed these impacts? What drives these mechanisms? What would be an alternative scenario?
As stated by Richard F. Burns and Thomas G. Vaccaro in Unaffordable Housing: A Root Cause of Social Inequality, 80% to 120% of area median income—also struggle to find affordable rental units in all 50 states. This lack of “workforce housing” results in their inability to live in or near the places where they work. Not being able to live near work if results in higher cost of living because you end up having to pay for either a car or, you could rely on public transportation or even have to pay forward gas money to another person. Housing also ties(“is also tied to”) to cost of living which turns out is very expensive. According to DePersio, Greg in "How Much Money Do You Need to Live in Los Angeles?, As of August 2015, the average rent in Los Angeles is $2,296 per month. Even if someone is only looking for a one-bedroom apartment, the average cost sits at approximately$1,950 per month. A two-bedroom apartment averages slightly over $2,500. So as one can see that they have to make at the very least $13 an hour just to pay rent, this does not even include food or utilities let alone if they have kids forget it. Because of unaffordable housing has left millions without homes making them fall under the category of
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.
Throughout my research I found there is a real cry out for action on providing more affordable house not just locally but throughout the country. There needs to be more funding available to build more gear to income or subsidized housing and all levels of government need to take action.
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.
In addition to describing the factors that go into the development of unequal opportunities in urban areas, the authors list some of the costs of living in a bad neighborhood. These “concentration effects,” as they call them, include access to healthcare and financial services. ...
The American dream was owning a house with a white picket fence. Now this dream is impossible. Individuals and families find it more difficult to find a decent home to rent in a suitable living area. According to Huffington Post, the hourly wage needed to afford a two bedroom apartment in California is at least $26 an hour. This is more than triple the minimum wage. Eviction, relocation, and inflation are the common keywords that associate with affordable housing. I 'm hoping to persuade you to support affordable housing for all. Today, I will be discussing, one, inflation of the housing market that needs to decrease, two, eviction from homes, three having to move to communities far from their work site.
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.