Faces of Gentrification

[Dan Daniel]

This theme was discussed in a book called "The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape" by James Howard Kunstler. Kunstler is primarily discussing the cookie-cutter nature of American suburban landscape (as I recall, it's been many years since I read the book), but it could equally apply to urban locales. His thesis is that one can exit an interstate highway in just about anyplace in America and the scene will look just the same as anywhere else in America - same fast food joints, stores, etc... Very worthwhile read as I recall.

Kunstler is good on this, and others have written about. In a variety of ways. And many photographers, of course, it's hard to miss the blandness and similarities around the US.

It is fascinating to see the same principles coming into the city. And the problem, as the OP is photographing, is that unlike a freeway interchange on the outskirts of town, making over an urban area into a homogeneous money-making market means cleansing the area of people. And cleansing is an important word to use. Gentrification has a rather anodyne quality to what is a violent process for many.

 

[giganova]

For some reason the Politicians have ignored my plan to move most of the Federal Government out of Washington, DC. I'd move the Department of Commerce to Detroit, the Department of Education to Alabama, the Department of Agriculture to Omaha, Department of Energy to North Dakota, Immigration and Naturalization to Los Angeles, etc. Why shouldn't the departments be located across the US, where their topics are the citizens' livelihood?

Most of the Federal Government IS outside of Washington, DC: only 1/6 of the federal workforce is in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including Virginia and Maryland. Less than 10% of Washingtonians work for the government.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/politics/federal-workers/

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

I was displaced from San Francisco. A man bought a building for $4.3 million, paid cash, 3 flats. Rents went from $3500 to $8000. Gave it to his 24 year old son to live in and play with. After a year, the son wanted his own place, not to share one flat with his friends. So the father bought him the building next door, mine, where I had been a tenant for 20 years. Only $2.8 million, cash again, for this one, 3 flats, but $1 million in renovations planned.

The same thing has happened in Sydney's Inner West over the last decade and a bit. Traditionally very working class with a lot of manufacturing, poor, big migrant communities.

Now you can't buy a 2 bedroom terrace with a non-functioning bathroom for less than $1m.

I'll be watching this thread with interest.

 

[David Hughes]

What they like in this part of the world is to buy a bit of land from two neighbours; meaning the bit in between the houses. Then they build two semi's* in the plot.


The lucky ones have a house a little wider than their car and so can park outside; with a lot of twisting and turning...


Regards, David




* A "semi" is half of a building and neighbours share a common wall in the middle. The word is short for "semi-detached" and a proper house is "detached" or "semi" and "det" when advertised.