More than 50 years later, the term “gentrification” still doesn’t have an official definition. Indeed, it is one of the most contested processes of urban planning—is it good or bad? Simply a byproduct of the system our country runs on?
La Jolla. Golden Hill. Barrio Logan. All these neighborhoods were the places that the class selected in order to assess their overall age-friendliness and livability. As we went through the presentations, it struck me that people claim a piece of land, carve it out as their own, and then create a standard, a stereotype of the people who will reside there. La Jolla is for the seniors, Golden Hill is for the families, and Barrio Logan, for the diverse and daring. We learned that La Jolla was a jewel unto itself, while communities such as Golden Hill and Barrio Logan underwent or are still fighting “gentrification”—(as defined by me) the act of renewing a neighborhood, either with malicious or magnanimous intent, by means of constructing establishments that meet the needs of residents, but inevitably appeal to more affluent classes.
The arguments are strong on either side—gentrification helps clean up the streets (but for whom?)! It’s awful because it displaces thousands of residents (but now they’re replaced with economically stable dwellers)! But what I have come to see is—don’t get too caught up in these debates, especially with a movement such as gentrification, a process that blurs the line between black and white.
We can never say something is completely wrong or right simply because of how broad the human experience is.
It’s easy to critique and judge from the sidelines, seeing the world from your own glass pane. But when the glass shatters and the colors run over with other fragments and frames, the world becomes a lot more complicated. Take the typical well-informed student. They believe the world can be reconstructed, the old order overthrown, all of society restructured to a more equitable balance. The student believes that with all the knowledge acquired through university, they can change everything.
But what’s happening is that their education, their enlightenment comes at a cost.
How is the university growing? How does the university sustain itself? Could it be that universities act as gentrifying forces, which means that… students are part of gentrification because we fuel the demand for the system’s expansion? I’ve seen in the news of schools and organizations that are always trying to reach out to “undeserved communities” while making their little hubs “centers of innovation” and “groovy places” for tourists to stop by. And you just can’t help but wonder—would these people have been marginalized if developers and investors never moved in?
I told you—the world is a mess. The picture is a lot more convoluted, the oil paintings running in with the pastels, the watercolor struggling to touch the light. No doubt, none of us are pure as we think we are. But this doesn’t mean we’re bad – why?
Because we didn’t choose to be born into this system. We didn’t choose to live and thrive in a broken world. We didn’t choose to clothe ourselves in blood diamonds, sustain ourselves on poisoned pears.
Yes, I may be living and breathing on colonized land. Yes, I am reaping the benefits from a community that long-segregated and openly discriminated against those were considered “different.” One way or another, our existences, somehow in some way, take away from others. But our realization is what makes all the difference. We understand and we know. In our limited extent of power, we now have the choice to make decisions for ourselves. Resist in the smallest of ways. Find joy in the little things.
There is a whole life ahead for all of us and it’s what we do with the time that defines us. It’s best to step back and check the privileges that you have been born into. Understand all that has been given and, perhaps, you may decide to give. Give all that you can and some. Especially in a world where the currency is “take,” you have the choice to do your best—to use what has been bestowed upon you—for better or for worse, it’s your discretion. So don’t get too caught up in the complexity that life is.
Because you will.
La Jolla. Golden Hill. Barrio Logan. All these neighborhoods were the places that the class selected in order to assess their overall age-friendliness and livability. As we went through the presentations, it struck me that people claim a piece of land, carve it out as their own, and then create a standard, a stereotype of the people who will reside there. La Jolla is for the seniors, Golden Hill is for the families, and Barrio Logan, for the diverse and daring. We learned that La Jolla was a jewel unto itself, while communities such as Golden Hill and Barrio Logan underwent or are still fighting “gentrification”—(as defined by me) the act of renewing a neighborhood, either with malicious or magnanimous intent, by means of constructing establishments that meet the needs of residents, but inevitably appeal to more affluent classes.
The arguments are strong on either side—gentrification helps clean up the streets (but for whom?)! It’s awful because it displaces thousands of residents (but now they’re replaced with economically stable dwellers)! But what I have come to see is—don’t get too caught up in these debates, especially with a movement such as gentrification, a process that blurs the line between black and white.
We can never say something is completely wrong or right simply because of how broad the human experience is.
It’s easy to critique and judge from the sidelines, seeing the world from your own glass pane. But when the glass shatters and the colors run over with other fragments and frames, the world becomes a lot more complicated. Take the typical well-informed student. They believe the world can be reconstructed, the old order overthrown, all of society restructured to a more equitable balance. The student believes that with all the knowledge acquired through university, they can change everything.
But what’s happening is that their education, their enlightenment comes at a cost.
How is the university growing? How does the university sustain itself? Could it be that universities act as gentrifying forces, which means that… students are part of gentrification because we fuel the demand for the system’s expansion? I’ve seen in the news of schools and organizations that are always trying to reach out to “undeserved communities” while making their little hubs “centers of innovation” and “groovy places” for tourists to stop by. And you just can’t help but wonder—would these people have been marginalized if developers and investors never moved in?
I told you—the world is a mess. The picture is a lot more convoluted, the oil paintings running in with the pastels, the watercolor struggling to touch the light. No doubt, none of us are pure as we think we are. But this doesn’t mean we’re bad – why?
Because we didn’t choose to be born into this system. We didn’t choose to live and thrive in a broken world. We didn’t choose to clothe ourselves in blood diamonds, sustain ourselves on poisoned pears.
Yes, I may be living and breathing on colonized land. Yes, I am reaping the benefits from a community that long-segregated and openly discriminated against those were considered “different.” One way or another, our existences, somehow in some way, take away from others. But our realization is what makes all the difference. We understand and we know. In our limited extent of power, we now have the choice to make decisions for ourselves. Resist in the smallest of ways. Find joy in the little things.
There is a whole life ahead for all of us and it’s what we do with the time that defines us. It’s best to step back and check the privileges that you have been born into. Understand all that has been given and, perhaps, you may decide to give. Give all that you can and some. Especially in a world where the currency is “take,” you have the choice to do your best—to use what has been bestowed upon you—for better or for worse, it’s your discretion. So don’t get too caught up in the complexity that life is.
Because you will.