1. Gentrification* is
"the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban
neighborhoods by upper or middle-income families or individuals, raising
property values but often displacing low-income families and small
businesses." By definition, the topic of gentrification is very likely to
stir up racial and/or class conflicts.
2. Gentrification is not
inevitable. It is not a force of nature, but a human act -- brought about by
human agency.
3. Gentrification is a
complex process with multiple players, many moving parts and those involved in
the process will help it happen faster, slow it down, end it altogether or
avoid addressing it at all.
4. There is a possibility
that low-income communities can survive the process of gentrification, albeit
there is a collective strategy to preserve the community before that process
begins.
5. The process of
gentrification may yield more negative impacts than positive ones. We will let
history and/or the communities most impacted be the judge.
6. We have to address the
negative impacts of gentrification in substantial ways and work to mitigate
them or historical communities of color will cease to exist in the Bay Area
(and across the nation).
7. The impact that local
governments, corporations and universities have in the process of
gentrification cannot be understated.
8. We cannot have a
conversation about gentrification without discussing the phenomenon that is
white flight, the creation of the ghetto to begin with and the observation that when white people move into a neighborhood property values
rise, automatically.
9. In a world where
development is a reality, perhaps the ethical thing to do is place limits on
the expansion of corporations such as Facebook and Amazon, and universities
such as Stanford University. This is one way to have development within
reason or "development without displacement."
10. If I have to
explain the importance and value of preserving my community on a regular basis,
there is a fundamental problem. It won't be long before I have to explain
the value of my culture and then after that, the value of my very
personhood. This is not something I am willing to do. Ever. And
the gentrification conversation is no exception.
Ashe.
