Gentrification is a product of Globalization. But, what even is Globalization? According to Richard C. Longworth in Caught in the Middle, us, Hoosiers don’t even know what it is - let alone have a working understanding of the concept. Globalization by definition is the “connection of different parts of the world resulting in the expansion of international cultural, economic, and political activities” (National Geographic, 2012). Globalization is the idea of the exchange of information or resources. Globalization can present itself in many different forms, including but not limited to: trade, immigration, culture, or knowledge. For example, when you are at the store purchasing a clothing item made from China – this is a product of globalization. According to Longworth, Globalization unites and divides. It cements ties across boarders while weakening old ties at home. It celebrates the transnational at the expense of old loyalties. It brings people together from around the globe while stirring new xenophobia. It destroys old industries and economies and creates new ones – not always in the same places. It makes some people richer and other people poorer and the gap is growing. Globalization can bring positives and negatives – it just depends on the side of the coin you fall on. Those of power, knowledge, and resources are more inclined to benefit from globalization. However, those who are in un-developed countries, those who fall below the poverty line in the United States – those are the individuals who suffer from the products of globalization. In order to identify globalization in your hometown you must first acknowledge gentrification. Gentrification is a ‘process of neighborhood change’ (Hwang & Sampson, 2014). According to When ‘Gentrification’ Isn’t About Housing, the term ‘gentrification’ was coined in 1964 by a British sociologist, Ruth Glass, when writing an essay about the postwar London. Glass began to notice the city was becoming ‘more modern and affluent’ (Stanly, 2018).
Gentrifications Effects on Culture3Britain’s society at the time, made it easy for Glass to identify the ‘gnetifers.’ Their class system was very rigid. However, it is not that easy to spot in the United States at this time. We, Americans, took in the novel interpretation of the meaning of gentrifies - the ‘active colonist.’ An active colonist is someone who tried on neighborhoods like shirts at a thrift shop – turning gentrification into a lifestyle choice (Stanly, 2018). Our society is fluid – making it easier than most to transition from one social class to another. The Cultural Ramification of Gentrification in New Orleans written by a group called “Blights Out,” argues that the practice of gentrification isn’t a new concept – it is foundational. Blights Out is composed of artists, activist, and architect from the New Orleans area. They argue that gentrification is one in the same as vacuum domicilium, which states that land without ‘permanent development’ is open for occupation. This was a legal document that allowed land that was occupied by Native Americans to be taken from them (Blights Out, 2017). The English ‘self-ordained’ themselves with the “authority to judge the value of indigenous people’s land use – their architecture, cultural practices, and agriculture” (Blights Out, 2017). The Native Americans existing lives were found worthless in the eyes of the new comers. A tangible modern day example of gentrification is highlighted by Will Staley. Staley sites Phillip L. Clay’s four stages of gentrification. The first stage are the ‘pioneers’ – often artists. This is when individuals move to abandoned areas with the sole goal of cheap rent. The second, is when the middle class follows. The third is when the numbers of the original population are outnumbered by the new comers. With the final stage being that the neighborhood is fully turned over to banks – the ‘developers and the wealthy’ (Staley, 2018). The source of gentrification is not rooted in evil or to be malicious. It was not sourced in hate – targeting lower income areas or people. However,
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Gentrifications Effects on Culture4the ramifications in which gentrification produces is life-changing and life-threating to natives of that town or city. In order to understand today’s gentrification in America – you must first understand the history the United State possesses. In the 1930’s the government started color coding areas of towns and cities. The colors were: green for ‘the best,’ blue for ‘still desirable,’ yellow for ‘definitely declining,’ and red for ‘hazardous.’ Local lenders considered the ‘redlined’ areas as a credit risk – having a huge impact being who was located in those areas based on racial and ethnic demographics (Jan, 2018). The neighborhoods were predominantly African American, as well as Catholics, Jews and immigrants from Asia or southern Europe. These areas were perceived as undesirable. According to Tracy Jan, a report who is dedicated to expanding knowledge on the areas of minorities and the effects on the economy, at The Washington Post, loans in these neighborhoods were either unavailable or very expensive. It made it difficult for low-income minorities to buy homes and gearing the United States for a huge and long-term racial wealth gap (Jan, 2018). These laws have had detrimental effects to those in minority communities – mapping out their lives for the next 100 years. In fact, even nearly 50 years after the Fair Housing Act banning racial discrimination in housing – still, two-thirds of neighborhoods originally sanctioned as ‘hazardous’ are home to mostly minority residents. Nail Smith in Gentrification and Uneven Development, would say we are entering a crisis. The crisis does not stop at residential areas but well throughout the economy. Smith identifies uneven development as a huge player in the gentrification process. Obviously, development in societies do not take place all at once or at the same time. Jackelyn Hwang and Robert J. Sampson agree with Smith, stating that most scholars agree that gentrification is a temporarily uneven process across neighborhoods. Quantitative research rarely
Gentrifications Effects on Culture5examined variation in the evolution of gentrification’s properties and expansions over time. It takes time and planning in order get ideas and companies in those under-development areas, and even longer to make substantial change. However, uneven development is a specific process that is both ‘unique to capitalism and rooted directly in the fundamental social relations of that mode of production’ (Smith, 1982). With differing social significance resulting in geographical patterns, the elite get to choose where they invest their money. Those who are investing – are investing to make a profit. Those who invest in ‘market towns’ versus a capitalist metropolis area are very different. Capitalism is rooted in the production process – valuing physical labor over social exchange (Smith, 1982). In Divergent Pathways of Gentrification, the article addresses that scholars in gentrification have not incorporated racial stratification in shaping the trajectory of gentrifying neighborhoods and their surrounding areas (Hwang & Sampson, 2014). Therefore, those with the power to make changes to the geographic disparities are unconscious to what they are actually doing to those that are not benefiting from the gentrifying areas. Understanding this concept is vital. By making the connections to our American values, like - money and greed, and how it has real impact on fellow Americans we can truly dive into gentrification effects on culture. Many would say the gentrification is more than housing. The implications in which the housing market plays a role in gentrification heightens the severity of the situation for minorities – especially for the black communities. The article, The Cultural Ramification of Gentrification in New Orleans, highlights the fact the Africa-American ancestors were forced to surrender their language, art, architecture, and social structures (Blights Out, 2017) In a modern day example, these communities are not forced to be moved as a whole to a certain area. Rather, they are slowly being invaded by those who are no longer natives. These communities are still forced to
Gentrifications Effects on Culture6surrender their architecture by being taken out of their homes and communities by those coming in, the gnetifers. Those who have already been settled into the community are subject to higher rent charges and stagnate income – making it extremely hard to survive in the new ‘up and coming’ area (Blights Out, 2017). However, I would argue the change of social structure would have the biggest implications on culture. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, social structure is ‘the internal institutionalized relationships build up by persons living within a group (such as family or community) especially with regard to the hierarchical organization of status and to the rules and principles regulating behavior.” Social structures are fluid – our world does not stay the same. The status, rules, and principles can change due to situations and those around. The gnetifers entering these new areas are ‘dishonest, careless, and clueless’ – this is a part of the privilege of being able to enter unfamiliar territories (Staley, 2018). Those who have the resources to be able to move to one place to another are able to be ignorant to what they are doing to natives because they have no idea what it was like before they entered the city. It is as if the gnetifers have totally revamped the city into something new. And, that is what they do – the natives of that town or city do not even recognize their city by the end of the gentrification process.In Gentrification Isn’t About Housing, a large amount of discourse steams from profit from, the gnetifers, “discovery” and repackaging of other people’s lifestyle. An example Staley identifies is the trendy new ‘tiny house’ phenomenon. A ‘tiny house’ is a home that is less than 1,000 square feet capitalizing on living ‘simply’ in minuscule, moveable homes (Staley, 2018). Does this description remind you of anything? A mobile home or a trailer home or an R.V. They are all one in the same. They all serve the same purpose and concept. However, the stigma, the
Gentrifications Effects on Culture7connotation of the different terms are night and day. Connotations that come with a ‘trailer home’ are those who live in them are poor, or even, dirty. Trailer homes are not located in great areas of cities and towns. The connotations surrounding ‘tiny homes’ are completely different. If you live in a ‘tiny home’ you are trendy. You are a minimalist. Tiny homes are usually in nicer condition than a trailer home – finding cool ways of creating storage or locating a bed in a fun loft area. This is a prime example of products of gentrification. The same concept – however, they are capitalizing off of an existing product and throwing a new label on it. For those being gentrified it is a theft of pride (Staley, 2018). In The Cultural Ramification of Gentrification in New Orleans, addressed ‘gentrified aesthetics’ which is by definition out of place and time and is devoid of context, spirit, or backstory. Ultimately, this is the obsession with the ‘industrial aesthetic’- high ceilings, open floor plans, raw materials of brick, steel, and wood. The article suggests that this industrial look fetishizes our nation’s manufacturing industry (Blights Out). Therefore by ignoring the history, the suffering of the people left in the aftermath of the industrial collapse. The article goes on: “Loft living” is the dream of life without labor, workshops without working-class people. The gentrified aesthetic is a warning, like a burning effigy; an exquisite corpse of other places, other people, other cultures treated as found objects and sewn together like a scarecrow. It is violent. It means: Get out. Along with the newcomers to the city or town that means more authority, more law enforcement. For those of minority and low-income areas this means more eyes, more focus, on them. Not only, are all the gnetifers watching the natives and wondering why they are still around. Or, an even worse situation, the gnetifers whispering how there was nobody who lived in the city or town before them. However, the law enforcement that was brought to the city because of the
Gentrifications Effects on Culture8gnetifers. Hence – the law enforcement will put policies into action that are an aid to those of higher statuses. The gnetifers brought them to the new city, provide their wages from the taxes they pay, and in hopes that they will do good by the new city – but it can at an expense for many. The gnetifer’s and all that follows effect the culture – destroying the culture of that town or city, killing the stamina and determination of the natives because the new man is in town. It is perceived appropriation – that is ingrained itself into the way we think about gentrification in America (Staley, 2018). Gentrification fells like an unstoppable problem. The original reason for gentrification were to bring more jobs to towns or cities and to boost the moral, bringing in nicer, trendier things for the locals. However, this is not how the pieces fall. With the new and ‘improved’ economic status of the city or town comes loss and grief of a life once lived. It is almost impossible with the resources provided to save the town you once knew. Breaking out of the cycle of oppression on minority communities is a long process – that we are still waiting to see it happen. We must revamp the way in which our minority communities are represented and perceived. We must change laws that directly target minority communities and we must be willing to hear them at the table! We have to start communicating with one another, with different communities, and begin the process of understanding one another. If the gnetifers have any idea what they were doing to the communities they enter – if they take time to talk with and interact – ask them what improvements they would like to see in their city before jumping in without any former knowledge. Communication is key and if we don’t start talking the rich will continue to be rich and the poor will stay poor.
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