The Processes of Gentrification in North American Cities (History Research Paper)

The Processes of Gentrification in North American Cities
Name
Affiliation
Course
Tutor
The Processes of Gentrification in North American Cities
Introduction
Gentrification is the renovation and disinvestment of cities, and it is implemented based on the desire to improve neighborhoods. The idea is fueled by most Cities’ need to work the extra mile and reach beyond their borders to sustain their vast populations. Thus, the process is prevalent in urban than in rural areas. Gentrification has been used for an extended period of up to fifty years to describe the shift in the makeup of neighborhoods located close to the central business district (CBD) of North American cities. Although gentrification benefits communities significantly, it could also be detrimental to their progress. Therefore, regions should take a step further after implementing the changes to mitigate the accompanying harmful effects. This paper discusses the Gentrification’s concept, its possible impacts, ways of eliminating the adverse impact, and view of The Beaches neighborhood in Toronto.
The concept of Gentrification
Gentrification is the process of renovating or improving a neighborhood to ensure its conformation with the middle-class state. The procedure involves an economic change of historically disinvested communities (Zuk et al., 2015). Thus, the areas proposed for Gentrification have only existed in the low state due to a lack of economic investments. The neighborhoods would have had better outlooks if investors had thought of putting efforts into improving their economic values. Gentrification is achievable through investment in real estate and residents’ movement with high-income levels into the neighborhood (Zuk et al., 2015). The ventures help in escalating the incomes of the area under renovation. For instance, the people with higher income levels bring improved lifestyles into the neighborhood, enhancing the transition from the low standard income living to their enhanced levels. Their movement eventually changes the area’s demographic setting into a high economic value presentation (Zuk et al., 2015). On the other hand, investment in real estate is bound to change the city’s general view. Generally, the steps are made to change the neighborhood’s original setting under Gentrification into the required form of an improved economic structure.
Gentrification does engage not only changes in income level but also education level and the neighborhood population’s racial makeup. The procedure entails improving the educational process and creating a setting based on equality (Zuk et al., 2015). Gentrification is complicated and requires distinct involvement in the study of its structure. It includes research on the historical conditions, especially the policies and practices conforming to the community process. The societies may also desire to know the impacts of the process on them. Gentrification closely relates to urban renewal and revitalization. The aspects correlate as urban renewal is the clearing of blighted areas in cities such as slums to pave the way for more improved high-class structures (Sutton, 2008). At the same time, revitalization is the step of showing something, including places and people, into new lives (Sutton, 2008). Relating the process to gentrification yields the idea that it improves the quality of lives of people in the neighborhood.
Positive and negative aspects of Gentrification
Gentrification has multiple positive impacts on society. One of these effects is that it is an indication of economic growth. According to Ding & Hwang (2016), the implication is brought by increased employment opportunities due to increased construction works and new businesses. Examples of these activities include revamping parks and buildings, making cash flow in society evident, making daily life better (Ding & Hwang, 2016). Secondly, Gentrification leads to improved property value in the affected areas. Renovation of buildings leads to increased costs as they become more attractive (Ding & Hwang, 2016). Henry (2014) claims that Gentrification leads to minimized crime due to increased rent rates, making neighborhood thieves relocate. However, due to the expansion of economic activities in the area, criminals can engage in legitimate jobs and businesses. Furthermore, Gentrification results in more occupying of empty houses, minimizing the vacant house rates in the region (Ding & Hwang, 2016). The improved houses and shops attract people due to their modernization, reducing the number of unoccupied homes in the affected neighborhood.
On the other hand, there are negative impacts that come across with Gentrification. First, it leads to the displacement of people in the area (Henry, 2014). The removal may yield harm to the affected people by making them homeless. The event can be as a result of hiked rent prices (Ding & Hwang, 2016). Secondly, as this activity enlarges, rent prices escalate, forcing the locality’s initial inhabitants to move to other places. The owners of the buildings being refurbished may be forced to increase house rents due to increased production costs in the renovation processes (Ding & Hwang, 2016). The activity can further cause urban-rural migration due to increased rent arrears or lack of affordable housing. Third, pressures due to house demands can be high on the surrounding neighborhoods when the replaced individuals plan to shift (Henry, 2014). As Gentrification continues to take shape, the outskirts of these areas start having a lot of housing demand to accommodate those displaced on an affordability basis. The last issue is the emergence of conflicts between the early occupants and the middle class...