Research Paper Topic Outline

Jonathan Eckman

Sophie Simon

Hannah Whalen

Research Paper Topic Outline

1. Proposed Research Question
   1. General: How do different neighborhoods react to the development of economically divergent sub-groups and what factors contribute to this response?
   2. Specific: How do the interactions of economically diverse groups in Long Island City compare to those within the similarly varied Lower East Side?
2. Why Long Island City?
   1. Recent dramatic shift in the major economic sectors that dominate the neighborhood
   2. Used to be a hub of industrial, factory-and construction-oriented jobs
   3. Over the last twenty years or so, it has lost not only its reputation as such but also its function
   4. Area has now become very popular for young families and small businesses, as prices in the area soar
   5. There is a divide between:
      1. Construction and factory workers who still make their living in the neighborhood
      2.  Those who have lived in Long Island City for a long time but are starting not to be able to afford it
      3. The newer residents who push up the prices of the neighborhood
3. Why the Lower East Side?
   1. Beginning with the mid-2000’s, has undergone rapid and expansive gentrification
   2. Has historically been a poor but ethically diverse neighborhood for working immigrants in the lower class
   3. The East Village, which split from the Lower East Side in the 1960’s, started to spread gentrification to LES in the 2000s
      1. New wave of trendy and upscale businesses
      2.  Construction of luxury condominiums
4. Expected Primary Sources
   1. Printed or Published Texts
      1. Newspapers, periodicals, magazines
      2.  Government documents
   2. Visual Materials – Photographs
   3. Manuscript and Archival Materials