of space thus casts light on the myriad ways in which processes of gentrification produce displacement without relocation.” Stabrowski discusses how the Polish people living in Green Point continued to be displaced everyday, and who survived on diminishing resources. Thus, it’s evident that gentrification does not stop even after the official process of moving in has occurred for the new culture, race, or ethnicity. This brought my attention to a video on YouTube, which describes the experience of an individual being kicked out of his own neighborhood.
What stood out to me from the video was when he talks about how he had to stay inside his home while people to explore it, with interest in living in the building in the future at higher prices with greater amenities. From this specific moment, I came to realize that as much as we see gentrification as a “before” and “after” phase, we tend to skip over the “during” part, that is during which the families have to see laws displacing their families and cultures, during which they have to see their neighborhood changing, during which they do their best to stay in the neighborhood because they cannot afford to go elsewhere. Another key point of this video was the fight between the white boys at the park and the individual himself. This fight results from territorial and space use concerns, but highlights how gentrification furthers the concepts of space division and the claiming of a new territory while another group is still present. This automatically gives the new moving-in group assumed cultural and social authority over the supposed outcasts of the soon-to-be completely gentrified neighborhood.
The idea is that gentrification is extremely capitalistic. However, with all things in nature, change doesn’t occur overnight. Unfortunately, we as a society see it to be like so, but those who suffer the detrimental effects of gentrification on a daily basis would seem to argue differently. I’ve thought several times about the idea that, as a muslim, I can relate to an entire group being judged for the actions of a few. Most of the times, poor neighborhoods are automatically associated with uncultured people and races, but It is difficult to understand that we cannot put such a blame the entire neighborhood. Islam means the world to me, but just because the actions of a few defame it, does it mean I should give up my faith and beliefs in the religion? Everyday that someone else pushes me to be a different person, I hang on even more to my faith and beliefs. Neighborhoods and communities are no less. Should those who truly need and believe in their communities just move out for the purposes of a better economy (which we all know isn’t true) and a future of unknown?
