The Theory Of Gentrification - Essay Example

The Theory Of Gentrification History has been an important aspect in gentrification of landscape. The histories of cities or other places combined with pressures that occur over time contribute to how the changes occur in these places. Mitchell (2007, 41) argues: “History does matter. … Both everyday history … and extraordinary events shape the land and shape the possibilities for the future. History is lumpy, as Lewis suggests, but it is also a sea of constant change in which waves of investment, innovation, and struggle of varying periodicity and intensity wash back and forth.” Lewis (1979, 15) argues that “[o]ur human landscape – our houses, roads, cities, farms, and so on – represents an enormous investment of money, time and emotions. People will not change that landscape unless they are under very heavy pressure to do so.” The theory of gentrification and the rent gap (Smith 1979), suggests there has been a great deal of pressure for change in some parts of the city. This paper argues that history matters to how gentrification unfolds in Boston and this explains the pressures that have led to change in that Boston’s gentrifying neighborhoods. Smith (1979, 538) states that after a period of sustained deterioration, many cities in America are experiencing gentrification of certain central city neighborhoods. He states that the initial signs of revival in the 1950s grew in 1960s and by 1970s had caused widespread gentrification that affected most of the older cities in the country. The earlier issues of sustained deterioration acted that occurred in American cities over time shows a historical aspect that influenced the changes in terms of gentrification in the country. The signs of revival that were recorded in the American cities between the 1950s and the 1960s represent the pressures that led to the cities’ gentrifying neighborhoods. Lewis (1979, 23) states, “History matters to the structure and look of a landscape. We inherit a landscape, which forms the basis for any changes, or developments we subsequently make. Change itself is uneven (historically lumpy).” Lewis clearly shows that history contributes to the manner in which a landscape changes. A landscape cannot just change without an influence. There must be some past issues that influence how a city changes. The history might be desirable or not but either of them influences how a city changes. If the history is desirable, it will contribute to positive change in terms of improving from the past. However, if the history is undesirable, it will influence the city to change considerably aiming for desirable outcomes. However, this does not mean that the change must be consistent because generally, change is uneven. In Boston, for instance, history has played a major factor in terms of is gentrification. Originally, the city was a forested land. However, this changed considerably starting from the nineteenth century as forests reduced considerably when the lands were converted to farms. These changes meant that households concentrated in the city neighborhoods, which have changed significantly reflecting issues of capital circulation. Dudley Square Area in Boston has historically had many poor and minority communities for a long time. The area has undergone social and physical changes over a period of several decades. The gentrification of Dudley area has began with a view of developing the area from the poverty that has identified it for long. Williams (2002 [1958], 93) states, “The making of a society is the finding of common meanings and directions, and its growth is an active debate and amendment under the pressures of experience, contact, and discovery, writing themselves into the land”. Williams emphasizes that for a society to achieve development, people must look to their experiences, contacts and discoveries and use them to effect change to their current environments. Here, Williams asserts that history along with pressures that come with it influence the changes in cities, which could be considered as gentrification. Mitchell (2007,38) supports Williams’ argument by stating, “California farmers’ long battle to regain the right to have their workers use the debilitating short-handled how, for example was waged in part as a means of insuring control over labor. Through the 1970s, the fields of California were continually shaped by this battle.” This has been reflected in California’s farming practices and accompanying laws showing that history determines how gentrification occurs and the pressures that lead to the changes. When examined together, the changes in demographic make-up of the Dudley area in Boston, the way the land is used and the types and costs of housing, there are signs of revitalization in terms of median income, educational attainment and land value that have affected gentrification in this area of Boston today. These factors have contributed to the rise of land value and housing costs. The Dudley area has experienced a rapid increase in housing prices and the number of condominium units, which point to gentrification. From these aspects, it can be clearly stated that the history of the Dudley area influenced the changes that occurred in terms of the increase in median income, educational attainment and land value, all of which have put pressure on the gentrification that has occurred in this area of Boston. Caulfield (1994, 97) states, “the direction taken in many parts of Toronto’s inner-city landscape during the 1970s and 1980s may be described as anti-modernist or postmodernist…among postmodernist planning’s central principles has been a celebration of traditional urban form, social and cultural heterogeneity.” This means that history and traditions affect the changes that occur in the modern world. This is supported by the example of the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards that were opened in 1992 echoing the architecture and idiosyncrasy of 1910-1920s stadiums. Osman (2011, 189) considers the importance of history in inventing Brownstone Brooklyn. The Brownstone Fair advertised itself as a display for “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Brooklyn Brownstone” meaning that it represented something that had not been provided historically judging by the fact that Brooklyn had been an area characterized by racism in the past. This is a recreation of this past that is not desirable in the current age. These texts show the influence of history in gentrification issues of the city and the pressures that influence the change. The changes in Boston in terms of how it has been gentrified has emphasized on the history that the city has had with issues of poverty and low levels of education and incomes. Hackworth (2007, 2) in reference to Dennis Kucinich and the manner he management Cleveland infamously refused to privatize the city’s electricity provider causing banks to cut off credit offers to the city, points to the manner in which Kucinich advertised his involvement in the affair in running for political office. Whichever the outcome of this strategy, the most important aspect here is the influence that such history had for Kucinich political career and the development t that the city would have if he was reelected based on the history he had. Soffer (2010, 335) also looks at the history of an individual and his qualifications in terms of the effect that his leadership can have on a city and lead to gentrification. Using an example of Ben Ward, Soffer (2010, 335) states, “Ben ward was a complex person whose history could not be reduced to stereotypes”. He had achieved success in different places where he had worked and as the fist New York’s African American police commissioner, historical issues at the police department were bound to change. The most important issue in the two texts is that history is significant in determining the changes and pressures that lead to gentrification. In Boston, changes in the lives of people in terms of an improvement in their educational levels and subsequent incomes brought about an increase in land and housing cost. These pressures have highly contributed to the gentrification of Boston. In conclusion, the discussion above has significantly shown that history matters to how gentrification unfolds in Boston and this explains the pressures that have led to change in that Boston’s gentrifying neighborhoods. History influences the current changes that bring about pressure leading to gentrification. The changes in terms of educational levels, rising income and also rising land and housing costs has brought about gentrification to root out the historical poverty that has characterized the city’s neighborhoods. References Caulfield, J. (1994). City form and everyday life: Toronto's gentrification and critical social practice. (Toronto [Ont.: University of Toronto Press). http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=05befc96-91b9-4bcb-9afc-cac31129b874%40sessionmgr115&vid=0&hid=121&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=e000xna&AN=682317 Hackworth, J. R. (2007). The neoliberal city: Governance, ideology, and development in American urbanism. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press). http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d666d61e-346a-4b3f-8510-9dfdae155dc5%40sessionmgr4001&vid=0&hid=4102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=e000xna&AN=671446 Lewis, P. F. (1979). “Axioms for reading the landscape: some guides to the American scene”. The interpretation of ordinary landscapes: Geographical essays, 11-32. Mitchell, D. (2007). New axioms for reading the landscape: paying attention to political economy and social justice. In Political economies of landscape change (Springer Netherlands), 29-50. Osman, S. (2011). The invention of brownstone Brooklyn: Gentrification and the search for authenticity in postwar New York. (Oxford: Oxford University Press). http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=40a03bbf-6cde-4d56-b465-ce43dba0f174%40sessionmgr4005&vid=0&hid=4102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=e000xna&AN=355105 Smith, N. (1979). “Toward a Theory of Gentrification A Back to the City Movement by Capital, not People”, Journal of the American Planning Association, 45(4), 538-548, DOI: 10.1080/01944367908977002 Soffer, J. M. (2010). Ed Koch and the rebuilding of New York City. (New York: Columbia University Press). http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=586c854b-24c9-48b3-844a-8b7646fb7a18%40sessionmgr4004&vid=0&hid=4102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=e000xna&AN=384857 Williams, R. (2002 [1958]). “Culture is Ordinary”, in B. Highmore (ed.), The Everyday Reader (London: Routledge), 91-100. Read More