Introducing
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Gabby Aviles and Kelly Suh
Action Project
NOTE: Because this presentation only captures a brief overview of such a complex subject, not all information will be covered.
Gentrification
noun
- the process whereby the culture, character, and identity of a neighborhood changes
- a shift in demographics
- a product of an influx of more affluent residents and businesses
Displacement
noun
- the ways in which the individuals and communities within a changing neighborhood are affected
Within the city, throughout the nation, and across the globe, gentrification persists as a prevalent issue. The term 'gentrification' was first coined in the 1960s. Since then, it has navigated the ways in which we approach our city. Individuals and communities have wielded various strategies in response to the gentrification process. However, currently enacted policies have continued to impede such strategies and efforts.
Pilsen has been underfunded by the city for a long time. Most recently, budget cuts were made to Pilsen elementary schools. This underfunding creates less opportunities, less jobs, and less ways for citizens of Pilsen to strive in the way wealthy Chicago neighborhoods can.
In the cycle of gentrification, a distinct wealth gap is both a cause and effect of the process. As more affluent individuals, families, and businesses bleed into these neighborhoods, gentrification increases housing costs. This makes it difficult for the working class to earn money, renders sustainable, better-paying jobs more scarce, and ultimately displaces those who are unable to support themselves.
As will be later discussed in more detail, the government has put tax and mortgage incentives that encourage migration and gentrification and ultimately aim to make moving into and renovating an under-served neighborhood very appealing.
Gentrification has only made systemic racism more visible. While so deeply embedded into our laws, regulations, and legislation, systemic racism has framed the society we live in. Discrimination, inequity, and injustice manifest in education, employment, healthcare, criminal justice, housing, wealth gaps, and more. Without the proper resources, residents are not able to support themselves.
It is argued that gentrification has allowed for an improved, more modernized community to flourish; however, this is simply not the case. Gentrification renders many negative effects upon a person's health, livelihood, and economic state.
As more wealthy people move into gentrifying neighborhoods, they pay more money, which increases the value of housing in that neighborhood. This causes the previous residents, many of low income backgrounds, to struggle finding the means to pay for their residence.
Struggling to find the money to support their families while paying for their house, many people are evicted as a result.
The rise in property value affects all community members. This leads to forced, mass displacement and migration across the country.
Many areas, like Pilsen, that are at risk of being gentrified are cultural enclaves. Pilsen specifically is predominately Latino. The displacement of residents may lead to assimilation in the gentrifying area, and can erode the culture and sense of community that they hoped to preserve.
When low-income residents are unable to support themselves, they may be forced to leave their homes. A simultaneous increase in housing costs and decrease in availability results in the reduction of affordable housing. With the lack of access to resources, services, and viable opportunities, these individuals and families can be forced into houselessness.
Pilsen Aldermanic Office Address:
2100 W Cermak Rd,
Chicago, IL
60608
Positions, Policy, & Power
Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez
By reaching out to representatives and policy-makers, we can encourage change.
The People
Mayor Lori Lightfoot
The residents of the 25th Ward as well as those in other communities can involve themselves in resolving this issue.
Our solution lies within the hands of lawmakers and policy-making. As disussed earlier, tax incentives and other gentrification endorsing policies are a major cause of the problem. Overturning these policies can be a very beneficial step towards combatting gentrification. Furthermore, more policies that allieviate the severity and possibility of gentrification, such as placing a price on the demolition of housing within Pilsen, would be extremely helpful. Of course, this requires the help of law makers and local government. What YOU can do is educate yourself and others, and contact the alderman of Pilsen or other areas where you see gentrification taking place.
This solution will impact all of Pilsen as the community has experienced an ongoing struggle with gentrification. This solution will allow them to maintain their sense of community, their culture, and their homes without the fear of financial ruin or eviction. We hope that it will also allow for other neighborhoods to see the benefits, and lead to the creation of comprehensive, holistic worldwide policies that will help to heal the community and put an end to gentrification.
Bibliography, Credits, & Final Notes
This link will take you to a document compiled with each source that was used to create this presentation:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JSJc2jdcs5vvQqwclkGHPQmaO28KYyzlzXnJ1mrNcxM/edit?usp=sharing
Just as this presentation could not be made alone, it is only together that we can inspire true change. We must each realize what power we possess so that we may then pursue and initate change. Channeling our realities, visions, and passions into facilitating progress, we must seek perspective and share our own. Alongside one another, it is possible to together do what we otherwise could not have done alone.