Gentrification and how it is affected by Racism - Essay Example

The scenario now known as gentrification is a growing trend today and a headache for the policymakers. This entry of the rich into the urban centers is even changing the culture of these centers. Gentrification is bringing a lot of pain and even fuelling conflicts in many cities. Dimensions in which gentrification takes place are into demographics characterized by increased income and even differentiation along racial lines (Grant). A racism class cannot be complete without learning about gentrification.

For years, this has been a very sensitive issue. For years, racism against the blacks and the Asian immigrants has been taking place. According to Jones (p3) gentrification is a class welfare with an aspect of racism in it. Therefore, in learning racism, there is need to learn about gentrification. This topic helps me as an art student understand what racism is all about and what forms racism takes in the society. San Francisco has long struggled to meet housing needs. Policies in San Francisco in the past have always limited the owners of the rental units from raising rents.

The result in San Francisco was a low to high fault evictions. These evictions were mostly due to legitimate reason such as improving safety of the old buildings built in the World War I. In the wake of gentrification over the year, property owners are now abusing policies in order to undermine these rent control laws in order to convert the rental properties into higher valued properties. As a result, the low-income and middle-income citizens are being pushed out of the areas they have grown in and moving to other neighbour hoods in the city.

(Stover, p5) Another form of gentrification has been in the form of technology. Luxury buses provided for the technology professionals of Valley companies such as Google and Apple are blocking regular buses, and this does not sit well with the locals. (Stover, p8) Another form of gentrification brought about by