TL;DR
- Gentrification as a Natural Outcome: Gentrification is a complex process that arises when communities age, and local governments fail to invest in their upkeep. Developers seize the opportunity to revitalize neighborhoods, often replacing the old with new, but this leads to the displacement of long-time residents and the loss of cultural heritage.
- Psychological and Social Costs: Gentrification has devastating effects on the mental health of displaced individuals, particularly children. Displacement trauma can cause long-term psychological issues such as ADHD, bipolar disorder, and serious emotional distress, affecting multiple generations.
- Examples of Gentrification: Historical and modern instances of gentrification show the broad impact on communities. Brooklyn and Lahaina are current examples where gentrification forces low-income residents out, often replacing them with wealthier, higher-income groups.
- The Need for Balance and Solutions: To mitigate the negative effects, a balanced approach is required. This includes affordable housing policies, rent control, cooperative ownership models, and the preservation of community history and culture. Collaboration between developers, governments, and residents is essential for creating more equitable outcomes.
The world is a dynamic spinning orb teeming with life. The cycle of life takes place upon a spectrum that is constantly changing and tells us that nothing truly stands still. On this rock that we all call home, our environment and its peoples are constantly evolving and changing. We are told that life is filled with ups and downs—harrowing twists and turns and then slow, picturesque sections of track that are lovely and scenic, preparing us for the next swath of spine-tingling activity. A little break before the next big thrust towards our futures.
Gentrification as a Natural Outcome of Human Desire
Gentrification—the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, typically displacing existing residents—is a good example of how communities evolve over time. In cities and towns, communities age and become rich with cultural identity. People thrive and build important networks to act as safety nets to support each other in times of crisis. But when reinvestment stops—sometimes due to local governments choosing not to fund maintenance or infrastructure—communities decline. This forces the disbandment of communities as people move on to better situations—where they feel safer and where the struggle to maintain an adequate home is not so difficult.
Once these icons of the community leave, the vacant sites are often overlooked, lacking the basic resources needed to grow and thrive. The opportunity then arises for developers to undertake projects that will reap enormous profits, due to the availability of low-cost buildings and land. Older structures are cleared, making way for new construction, new businesses, and higher-income residents who can afford what is now being offered.
At first, this seems like a natural outcome of community efforts to promote progress. Opportunities are seized to garner spaces that are ready and ripe for improvement. The potential for new business and the possibility of profits hovers and invites forward thinking planners, architects and businesspeople. The initiation of the gentrification process is filled with hopes for a bright future and good intentions. Gentrification is a process that has no tried and true method or blueprint for guaranteed success. Many efforts at reviving old communities have failed despite the investment of millions of dollars and the contributions of brilliant professionals. Optimism, excitement, engagement and high levels of motivation are the psychic flavors of the leap into revitalization.
A Good Beginning and The Negative Spiral
Gentrification demonstrates the innate human desire for growth, change, power and status—drives that position humans at the head of the living pack. We remain at the top of the food chain thanks to this unrelenting pursuit for more.
It’s out with the old and in with the new—but the effects can be harmful. The history and culture that are lost during the gentrification process become irretrievable. History is threatened and the legacy created by previous generations—their hard work and support—can be erased.
Multiple studies have recently come to light regarding the long-term effect of gentrification on mental health. The effects are devastating.
Gentrification has demolished the precious identities of people whose families have lived in these neighborhoods for generations. What does this tell our future generations? Does it send a message that no matter what you achieve, know that you may not get any credit for your hard work and devotion? Why work and build, only to have everything you’ve created virtually annihilated?
As society grapples with rising child suicide rates, the shrinking middle class, and the accelerated warming of the Earth, the fabric of society continues to unravel. In response, there are heroes in the making that are sacrificing capitalism, big profits and untethered growth for a more thoughtful and kind way of living. People don’t really love gentrification and its effect on their friends and family. They are seeking viable solutions.
A good example is a development company created by Bree Jones called Parity Homes—self-described as an innovative, equitable development company. Parity Homes’ mission is to create pathways to homeownership that build wealth and strengthen existing communities.
Jones was a Wall Street investment banker. When she saw what was happening in an old neighborhood in Baltimore—how family, friends and community icons had been forced from their homes due to poor living conditions, redlining, and lack of basic maintenance—she decided to take action. Many of her neighbors’ former homes stood abandoned, awaiting demolition by anxious developers with their eyes on the prize of more land and the opportunity to create a new and modern community. In response, Jones founded a group that is redefining gentrification by giving the residents an equitable role in the redevelopment process—and an opportunity to build lasting wealth and secure a permanent home.
Gentrification Reframed
But does gentrification really exist? There are many who deny its existence. These naysayers believe the word itself is used as a weapon to demonize accepted business practices and discourage support for revitalization as a form of development that reaps healthy and beneficial profits.
But gentrification does exist—and has for thousands of years.
There is archeological evidence that gentrification occurred before Christ in Rome. Aventine Hill of Rome is an example. Several hundred years before the birth of Christ, Roman law granted land rights— including Aventine Hill—to the Plebes (common people of Rome). Over time, aristocrats took advantage of the spoils of war, took over the land, and built their palaces on the hill—creating an elitist community where Plebes could no longer live.
Brooklyn, New York, and Lahaina, Maui are good examples of communities currently threatened by gentrification.
The gentrification of Brooklyn is well-documented across media. Once a thriving Black community, high income residents are buying up properties, opening high-end businesses and driving longtime residents out due to high prices and hostile behavior—such as abusing the 311 system with false complaints about noise or blocked driveways.
Lahaina, devastated by wildfire, is now threatened by developers who want to create an exclusive regional resort for the wealthy. The people of Lahaina are fighting back. The Lahaina Community Land Trust provides grants for rebuilding, funds to purchase and protect lands and build affordable housing.
Psychological Impact
The emotional impact of being displaced cannot be ignored. Displacement has a multigenerational impact. The youngest victims are the children of displaced families, who often sustain trauma that presents with symptoms similar to Bipolar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, and Reactive Attachment Disorder. These effects can last for decades. Children who have suffered displacement often struggle to meet the challenges of life throughout adulthood.
It’s an unfortunate price to pay for profits. In a perfect world, progress would benefit all the players, not just the few. A study completed by Health Services Research measured the adult response to gentrification. Adults who lived in neighborhoods where gentrification efforts were actively taking place sustained Serious Psychological Distress (SPD). SPD symptoms include feelings of nervousness, hopelessness, restlessness, worthlessness, and that everything is an effort.
A New Balance
To help solve some of the current issues involved with gentrification, it’s key to focus on balance—and how all the parties involved in the redevelopment process can become a part of the solution.
Some ways to achieve balance are:
- Institute policies to protect the current residents from displacement.
- Require developers to include affordable housing, rent control, and eviction support.
- Create housing cooperatives where residents share ownership and benefit from the progress resulting from new projects.
- Support small businesses and preserve the history of the neighborhood.
- Ensure projects are collaborative between government, developers, and communities.
Balance is a work in progress and a tenuous state. Our beautiful planet is an immature paradise enduring constantly changing factors. Although billions of years old, the human race is still struggling to evolve to a place of health and balance for all.
Some would argue that inequality is simply the reality of life—that not everyone can win. This may be true to some extent, but it doesn’t give society the license to disregard our own humanity, to knowingly let our brothers and sisters fail and sometimes perish. Community actions that lack careful planning and compassion are a crime against ourselves and all that we have achieved as a human race.
As we strive to create a global utopia, all lives must be valued and heroic measures taken to protect the vulnerable. In taking on this responsibility, we leap forward into the light—and toward a brighter future.
