Gentrification Process

Words: 834
Pages: 4
Open Document
The political agency of local governments not only alters the economic landscapes through increased property tax revenue and personal wealth, but also revisions the social and demographic landscapes of gentrified neighbourhoods. The influx of affluent citizens upgrading existing residential structures often displaces low-income residents (Slater, 2004). As an area experiences increased gentrification, low-income residents have fewer housing choices available in the inner cities, and who must often settle for accommodations that are less accessible by public transit, farther from work, and where fewer public services are available (Walks & Maaranen, 2008, p. 3). A common feature of the gentrification process is policy initiatives undertaken …show more content…
South Parkdale experienced disinvestment following the construction of the Gardiner Expressway in the 1960’s, also while experiencing problems from the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric patients from adjacent hospitals during the 1970’s and 1980’s (Slater, 2004, p. 4). These discharged patients suffered from a shortage of affordable housing options, and many ended up in substandard rooming houses (Slater, 2004, p. 2). In December 1996, The City of Toronto passed an interim control by-law, which prohibited any rooming house/bachelorette development of conversion in the administrative ward that contains South Parkdale, pending an outcome of an area study (Slater, 2004, p. 12). The results of the area study were released in July 1997, reporting that the neighbourhood had an “unhealthy” balance of incomes, household types, where a strategy to encourage families to return to the ward was emphasized (Slater, 2004, p. 2012). Influenced by the overarching assumptions that single occupancy dwellings were the cause of instability in Parkdale, the results of the 1997 report and by-law sets out to accomplish two primary goals (Slater, 2004, p. …show more content…
276). With this policy, Ontario’s affordable housing crisis intensifies, as larger housing service providers with valuable land resources are privatized in an attempt to display a sign of entrepreneurial success, when in reality this threatens the future accessibility of a housing unit to low-income residents (Bridge, 2012). The average monthly costs of housing people while they are homeless are $1,932 a month for a shelter, versus $199.00 a month for an affordable/social housing in Toronto (Gaetz, 2012, p. 5). The homelessness generated through gentrification poses an additional cost for local governments, either in the form of funding homeless shelters or implementing affordable housing for those displaced. This isolated example of policy failure in Ontario demonstrates the accruing cost of gentrification, as well as the cohesion between provincially led policy and urban governance strategies, which work in tandem with gentrification to change the demographic landscape of newly gentrified
Show More

Related Documents: Gentrification Process

The Pros And Cons Of Gentrification

Gentrification is a process by which-low income central-city neighborhoods experience investment and renewal accompanied by an in-migration middle- and upper-middle-class residents. ("Pioneers of Gentrification: Transformation in Global Neighborhoods in Urban America in the Late Twentieth Century.") Gentrification is broadly process of neighborhood selection that results in the physical demographic, and cultural transformation of a low-income area into a higher-value neighborhood. ("Pioneers of…

Words 483 - Pages 2

Gentrification In Neighborhoods

gentrifying neighborhoods. The process of gentrification appears to be a phenomena that occurs as a natural reaction to the post white flight and the subsequent Reagan-era, post-industrialized world our society currently inhabits, so it is futile to enact a policy that halts the process. The policy must, then, be one that attempts to build up the original inhabitants’ ability to coexist with the middle-class gentrifiers without resulting in the failure that is positive gentrification. Therefore, the policy…

Words 1371 - Pages 6

Gentrification Research Paper

Gentrification is the process by which working-class residential neighborhoods are “rehabilitated” by middle-class homebuyers, landlords, and professional developers. Gentrification involves the rehabilitation of housing and the influx of new businesses, which can increase property values and the cost of living, making the area less affordable for existing residents. The term was invented by sociologist Ruth Glass in the 1960s to describe changes she observed in London neighborhoods, Glass described…

Words 1909 - Pages 8

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Gentrification Essay

Gentrification, defined as the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. At first thought, it may sound as a way to improve low income and deteriorated districts, but in a whole, gentrification has a backstory not many know of. Gentrification has severely sever the image of many cities within the past decade. For example, when comparing the 2000 census to the most recent census, the city of New York saw the most tracts ( neighborhoods) of gentrification…

Words 715 - Pages 3

Gentrification Pros And Cons

Gentrification is a highly controversial topic since it affects different classes of people in different ways. Gentrification is the process of rebuilding neighborhoods in order to make them more appealing. The reason gentrification is an appealing idea to some people is that a freshly renovated living area is more engaging to possible residents than their current location. It’s like a child wanting a new version of an old toy simply for the fact that it is newer, so in the child’s eyes, better.…

Words 1169 - Pages 5

The Negative Effects Of Harlem Gentrification

Gentrification can be defined as the shift in the makeup of a community’s people. It is usually the community’s transition from a rundown, poorer area to a wealthier demographic. Gentrification begins with the increase of property values, which is caused by brokers and real estate agents. These brokers and real estate agents usually benefit the most from the transformation. Businesses that move in, like storefront coffee shops, cafes, and boutiques, raise the rent of apartments by increasing the…

Words 1823 - Pages 8

Gentrification In Chinatown Research Paper

Chinatown is referred to as "gentrification," which is a broad term. This essay aims to clarify what gentrification is and the effects it has on residents. We'll examine how gentrification is affecting Kensington Chinatown in the next sections, discuss how the neighbourhood used to be and how it's evolving today, and also hear from residents to learn how the changes are impacting them. To get a whole perspective, we'll examine both the positive and negative aspects of gentrification. Overall, we'll go into…

Words 1465 - Pages 6

Cons Of Gentrification And Crime

Choeles Tung Gentrification and Crime Crime is an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law. Crime is prevalent in cities more than any other environment due to the density of the population. To lower crime rates, the city has done things such as increased police patrols, and gentrification. Gentrification does not directly stop crime however it plays a large part in helping lower crime rates. Gentrification allows for more resources…

Words 249 - Pages 1

Pros And Cons Of Gentrification In DTES Vancouver

Gentrification in DTES Vancouver: Good or Bad? Gentrification is defined as a series of renovations brought upon low-income neighborhoods within the city with the intent of bringing upper and middle class families into the inner cities. At a first look, it seems like a positive process, but when delving deeper, it can be found to have many negative consequences for the low-income people to whom to process is affecting. Some of said negative effects include the loss of less expensive residential…

Words 573 - Pages 3

Gentrification: The Negative Consequences Of Urban Renewal

residents, the demolition of community structures, and the use of eminent domain to take private property for public use. Gentrification is the process of higher socioeconomic status groups migrating to lower socioeconomic neighborhood communities with the consequent transformation of these low status areas to higher status neighborhood communities. The process of gentrification is one of many systemic pressures…

Words 1433 - Pages 6