In this piece, the author is writing about a side of gentrification I never
considered. Usually, gentrification has been taught to be the reigning force for
the minority. While it might be beneficial to the neighborhood from an outsider
and policy maker’s point of view, how the neighbors might feel when new people
start coming in is a topic left relatively unexplored. Very little literature
has touched the subject. The piece brings in a point of view I have not seen but
it makes sense when it is explained.

Wilson’s view of gentrification has been taught to me in another IDC class. The
idea that having the middle class come in increases social ties makes a lot of
sense intuitively. The author interviewed a resident and talked about the
interactions between the long term residents and the gentrifiers. In his
interview, the resident said they don’t interact with one another much. While
the community might be benefit in terms of real estate, it seems community feel
decreases at the same time.

For the sake of a lively community, I wonder if gentrification is better even if
it destroys that feeling. Logically, the people that affect how you act the most
are the people who you hang out with. As I read what the author writes, the more
I feel the long term residents are the driving force behind neighborhood change
rather than new residents. For me, my neighborhood doesn’t have any events. My
nephew neighborhood used to have a block party and he and his neighborhoods
definitely seem closer to me.

I thought it was a bit funny when Jennifer, a black woman who obtained a
building used by the neighbor residents before, was called “white” out of
resentment by another black woman. As the author noted, I am sure the woman met
to use “white” to denote outsider status. Although her background isn’t typical
of a gentrifier, she can still be considered an outsider. The more I read the
interviews, the more I feel the ones making a difference in the neighborhoods
aren’t the gentrifiers and instead the old residents. The person who recently
turned Christian said how the one to stop little kids from selling drugs is to
have a job himself to offer.

However, I guess depending on the goals the gentry can help the residents or
hinder them. The piece definitely made me think about whether or not
gentrification is the best way to approach neighborhood change. Policy makers
should read this piece when thinking what is best for a neighborhood. I think
some statistics on who feels the gentry are outsiders would be good too.