‘
We
are building our way to hell’: tales of gentrification around the
world
From
community displacement in Mexico City to tourism-triggered evictions
in Lisbon and crazy rent hikes in Silicon Valley, our readers shared
stories of gentrification happening in their cities – and the
initiatives trying to tackle it
Guardian readers and
Francesca Perry
Wednesday 5 October
2016 12.07 BST
Amsterdam,
the Netherlands: ‘When scarcity is applauded, that’s very wrong’
“Here
gentrification happens very quickly. Every month some ‘nice’
restaurant or shop opens. The old name of my neighbourhood
(Kinkerbuurt) was changed and rebranded to ‘Hallenkwartier’. I
would enjoy many of the changes if I knew others could enjoy it as
well. But poor people have to leave, social housing is sold off, and
rich people and tourists move in.
There was a
squatting action, a demonstration and protests against the rebranding
of the neighbourhood. I have seen posters and banners on houses. But
the city council is just selling off social housing. Waiting time for
a house in this neighbourhood used to be eight years, now it is 18
years. The biggest ruling party has even worse plans; they want to
give the social houses only to working people, saying jobless people
should leave the city.
I can’t believe
what Amsterdam has become, it was very different 10 years ago (I’ve
lived here for 22 years). Generally rent is easier to control with
rent caps than housing prices, so this ideal of having property
should be discouraged. We have a great tradition of social housing
corporations in the Netherlands – some cities had 50% social
housing. Now the whole way of thinking is about extracting money, not
creating communities. When prices go up, they say ‘the market is
doing well’. When scarcity is applauded, that is very wrong.”
(Pieter Voogt)
Montreal,
Canada: ‘New restaurants can’t be located near existing ones’
“Various parts of
Montreal have been experiencing gentrification. In Saint-Henri, a
former manufacturing neighbourhood, urban renewal has been very
contentious, particularly with regards to the commercial strip,
Notre-Dame Street, becoming well known as a restaurant district. The
borough council has just introduced a new bylaw restricting the
number of restaurants on the strip, imposing a 30-metre restriction,
whereby new restaurants cannot be located within 30 metres of an
existing restaurant.” (Giovanni Paquin)
Silicon
Valley, US: ‘$1,000 a month rent hikes are not uncommon’
“Gentrification
has been business as usual for Silicon Valley for decades. My entire
family has left over the years to more affordable places for the
working class. Today gentrification is even more extreme thanks to
Google headquarters being here. Every time there’s a boom in
Silicon Valley, something like six times more jobs are created than
homes built. People are casually displaced every day and $1,000 a
month rent hikes are not uncommon. We have hundreds of people living
on the streets now in RVs.
In the end
gentrification will create huge social unrest and we shall all –
rich and poor – suffer the consequences
Mountain View should
implement policies that restrict office growth unless it correlates
with commensurate housing growth. City councils are hesitant to
advocate that way because they’re scared a company like Google
would leave and go to another city. The Mountain View Tenants
Coalition is now campaigning for ballot measure V, which is a rent
control law. We collected 7,311 signatures in a monumental community
effort.” (Daniel DeBolt)
Bath,
UK: ‘Gentrification will create huge social unrest’
“In Foxhill, 544
homes are being threatened with demolition by a ‘social housing
landlord’ who is also a developer: their plans would result in a
loss of 241 social homes. Owners would be forced out of the city.
Tenants would be rehoused in the area but probably with much higher
rents. The prospect of seeing our lovely peaceful village-type estate
being demolished and replaced with upmarket homes at top market
prices is creating anxiety and illness. A petition by our Foxhill
Residents Association opposing the demolition was submitted to
Parliament. A lot of residents hope the project will not receive
planning permission.
There are 6,000
people on the housing waiting list in Bath, so a project that would
create a loss of social homes is not acceptable. The people who keep
our city running are needed and need homes: what will Bath do if the
dustmen, the waiters, the chefs, the nurses, the childminders, the
recyclers are forced to live outside of this expensive city? In the
end gentrification will create huge social unrest and we shall all –
rich and poor – suffer the consequences.” (Frieda Buckley)
Praca
do Comercio square Baixa district central Lisbon Portugal Europe
‘Lisbon’s
historic centre has suffered a growing gentrification process.’
Photograph: Alamy
Lisbon, Portugal:
‘Landlords evict people to start tourist businesses every day’
“I live in
Lisbon’s historical centre, which has been suffering a growing
gentrification process in the last four years with rising tourism and
no regulation for short-term rentals. Rent prices are now completely
unaffordable. Entire blocks of homes are being converted to
short-term rental apartments and hostels. Landlords are evicting
people to start a touristic business every day.
We need new laws
that encourage landlords to choose long-term renting, instead of
short term or leaving apartments vacant. We should also have rent
controlled apartments and a centralised office, like in Paris, that
decides a price ceiling for every rental apartment in the city.
This is a turning
point. The city is becoming an entirely segregated, exclusive place.
Local and national governments are doing nothing to stop this happen.
The issue of gentrification has been dismissed or called collateral
damage. Some activist groups have been stirring the waters, but it is
very difficult to fight the power of money especially when it’s
supported by government.” (Catarina)
Newcastle,
UK: ‘I want to believe that cities can be both regenerated and
inclusive’
“Twenty-five years
ago there were riots near where I live, in the west end of Newcastle.
Fifteen years ago there was talk of demolition. Now, after
regeneration efforts, we’ve got cleaner streets, reduced crime, and
a revived local economy - due in no small part to immigration, by the
way. The housing crisis is a scandal. But conflating it with
regeneration, and damning cafes, cycle lanes, enterprise and
opportunity as ‘gentrification’ runs the risk of undermining
efforts to make places better. It also lets our policy makers, whose
actions are making matters worse, off the hook. I want to believe
that towns and cities can be both regenerated and inclusive.” (Jo
Ellis)
‘What does it
mean to build a new Chicago? There is already a Chicago here.’
Photograph: George
Chicago, US: ‘I’m
afraid of the day when the stores, the people, the library are all
gone’
“You can’t live
on the north-west side of Chicago without talking about
gentrification. There is a lot of action being taken to counteract
it. From civil disobediences on the luxury towers being constructed
on Milwaukee Avenue to rallies against evictions throughout the
neighbourhood, gentrification is one of the most contentious issues
facing our city.
The push for
affordable housing is coming from the community, not elected
officials. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a slogan called ‘Building a new
Chicago’; what does that mean? There is already a Chicago here.
There is obviously an agenda to gentrify and attract tourists to make
Chicago a ‘global city’. We should be subsidising affordable
housing, instead of downtown hotels. We need rent control and
eviction laws. As a lifelong resident of the north-west side of
Chicago, I’m afraid of there coming a day when I don’t recognise
my neighbourhood, when the stores, the people, the library are all
gone. That gets to the root of gentrification: this loss of
familiarity and home.” (Lynda Lopez)
Buenos
Aires, Argentina: ‘Most people have to move away when they start a
family’
“Vivo en un barrio
(Palermo), que se fue transformando de un barrio familiar hace 20
años atrás a una atracción turística y muy caro, donde un
apartamento es prácticamente incomprable. El gobierno de la Ciudad
de Buenos Aires no hace absolutamente nada por esto, y en todo el
perímetro de la ciudad existe una aumento del valor muy superior al
del ingreso, lo que origina que la mayoría de la gente cuando forma
una familia deba mudarse lejos ... o vivir amontonada en pocos metros
cuadrados. La existencia de vivienda social y la construcción de
casas construidas especfícamente para familias en vez de
apartamentos de lujo, ayudaría evitar la gentrificació.” (Raùl
Enrique Rodriguez)
(“I live in a
district (Palermo) that has transformed from a family district 20
years ago to a tourist attraction and is very expensive, where an
apartment is practically unaffordable. The city government has done
absolutely nothing for this, and the surrounding areas of Greater
Buenos Aires have increased in value far exceeding people’s
incomes, meaning that most people have to move away when they start a
family, or live piled up into a few metres squared. The existence of
social housing and the construction of family homes instead of only
luxury apartments would help prevent gentrification.” Translation
by Natalie Pilato)
Berlin,
Germany: ‘Rent caps and Airbnb restrictions need to be more
strictly enforced’
“While
gentrification in Berlin is harder to recognise than in New York or
London due to the low base from which rent prices started at, the
percentage increases are extreme. The city has taken some steps to
keep prices down (for instance by capping rent increases) but this
has also ignited the popularity of Airbnb and similar sites, where
renters can take advantage of these laws by paying low rents
themselves, but making huge profits through short-term rentals. This
then takes a number of apartments off the market, increasing rent
prices and shortages.
An acquaintance has
rented four flats at a low rate, and rents them all out through
Airbnb. It’s become a very profitable full-time job for him. The
city has put some restrictions on the amount of days you can rent
your property, but these are apparently easy to evade and not well
enforced. The city is still catching up to the use of new
technologies. Rent caps and restrictions on Airbnb are a start, but
they need to be more strictly enforced.” (Daniel)
Somerville,
US: ‘We need more community control of land’
“Gentrification is
out of control here in Somerville, Massachusetts. Property values are
increasing at an average of 10% per year, condo conversion and rent
increases are rampant, and new development is pricing out small
businesses and contributing to displacement of low-income and
immigrant residents.
I’m part of Union
United, a broad-based coalition of residents, businesses, churches,
unions, and community organisations. We are fighting for a voice in
new development, so that we can have decision-making power over the
future of our neighbourhood and ensure affordable housing, good jobs,
small business protections, and other amenities. A binding community
benefits agreement between community members and developers would be
a great first step. Longer term, we need more community control of
land through land trust and public housing, along with rent control
and a real living wage.” (Anonymous)
Mexico
City, Mexico: ‘Nothing can stop gentrification in my city’
“My neighbourhood
is called Polanco. Recently shops and restaurants have been moving
into the old mansions and their occupants have moved elsewhere. I
believe gentrification is a positive and natural mechanism in the
city. Some organisations such as ‘La voz de Polanco’ are
rejecting the recent transformation of houses into commercial uses
and land development in general, but I don’t support them.
I think nothing is
capable of stopping gentrification in my city. Its negative effect
such as displacement of people should be tackled by a housing plan
that includes affordable apartments for rent inside more expensive
buildings, sponsored by the state. Displacement of poor people out of
gentrified neighbourhoods is a serious issue here: people have to
move to housing projects that are located 50km away from the city
centre. But land developers are not to blame, they respond to the
free trade economy. Their effects expose the irresponsibility of the
state in providing affordable housing to those in need.” (Lorenzo
Rocha)
London,
UK: ‘It has created a class and race divide’
“I have a council
flat that I was given after 15 years of being homeless. I’m from a
working-class background and have always worked. Affordable housing
has always been an issue for my friends and family. No one wanted to
live here when I first moved in, but now it is considered a highly
desirable area. We have seen the mass selling-off of council flats on
the estate to property developers, the private and buy-to-rent
markets. This has put a lot of pressure on tenants like myself, with
our homes constantly under threat as the council tries to find ways
to evict or move you out of the area to free up properties to sell,
creating anxiety and vulnerability.
What gets forgotten
is that we have a diverse community of people in my block who know
each other and help each other out. My experience of people who have
bought flats is that they don’t actually want to live in a diverse
community. Shop prices have gone up locally, expensive coffee shops
and restaurants have opened. It has created a class and race divide
that didn’t exist here before. The tenants’ association has been
good at campaigning to stop flats from being demolished to make space
for luxury apartments – but they’ve been unable to stop the
sell-off of flats. My issue is not with areas being improved, it is
how gentrification is about one demographic of our society changing
an area for themselves and not for the benefit of everyone.”
(Anonymous)
Paris,
France: ‘The city is very diverse, but this is being threatened’
“Gentrification
has been happening in Paris since the 1970s, reaching most
neighbourhoods. But there is a district called Goutte d’Or which is
maybe one of the last areas in the inner city trying to resist it.
Despite the loss of some of the shops and communities which create
the identity of this area, there are a few initiatives that are
trying to resist the present trend. In order to preserve the ethnic
and social diversity in Goutte d’Or, the city has been trying to
slow down the process of gentrification by developing social housing.
One third of the flats created were reserved for emergency housing,
one third for regular social housing and one third for middle class
“pioneers”. This policy has been criticised for dragging the
middle class in to this area and increasing real estate prices.
Gentrification is a
natural trend but it has to be regulated especially in a
multicultural and socially divided city such as Paris. This city is
very rich in terms of diversity, but this is now being threatened,
especially because private housing is deregulated and many foreigners
are investing in real estate, making prices grow artificially. I
think people who own flats and leave them empty should be taxed, and
the city council should encourage owners to transform unused spaces
such as abandoned offices into residential units to create more
offers on the market.” (Alexia Chauliac)
Callao,
Peru: ‘The government here doesn’t even know what gentrification
is’
“Callao is a city
full of history and traditions and is undergoing a process of
gentrification, specifically in the historic centre. Even though
Callao is really close to Lima, it has been an independent city since
1836. Nobody uses the term gentrification when referring to what is
currently happening. If you see the news in Peru, they will refer to
the process as ‘a project to improve and change the face of
Callao’. They will not speak about the houses being bought up and
the people who are being displaced.
In Peru the term
gentrification is not recognised
You may think that
this area needs more good schools and employment opportunities, but
the government agrees with the gentrifying group that opening art
galleries, cafes, and expensive restaurants will solve things. Also
there are weekend events where the cost of alcohol is too expensive
for locals and the advertising is targeted only to the wealthy
sectors of Lima; people in the area say they don’t feel these
events are for them.
In Peru the term
gentrification is not recognised. The government here doesn’t even
know what gentrification is. Even worse, city government said that it
won’t put zoning plans to the public until the year 2036. I think
sharing information and broadening knowledge about gentrification
would help.” (Anonymous)
“I am a 70 year
old carpenter and I have seen more decay in the quality of life in
the last three years in Portland, Oregon – pearl of culture in the
Great Northwest – with the one-term mayor ‘Chainsaw Charlie
Hales’ who was previously a lobbyist for the the ‘home builders’
– read developers. Towers built into the sky on alluvial soil –
the stuff that turns to pudding in an earthquake. Hundred-year-old
classic neighbourhoods injected with ‘cereal box’ buildings
invalidating residents’ privacy and daylight.
From my perspective,
I would call this a travesty: ‘Bankers gone wild’. A spreadsheet
vision of creating investments that spread the risk, with total
disregard for community culture which, prior to this, was well
protected by zoning. The people here have a campaign called Stop
demolishing Portland. Such beauty is being replaced by such
tastelessness, as though the reason the people want to live here is
to be housed like gerbils. The cult of efficiency, unchecked and
ungrounded is the universal salve that greases the way to community
destruction and dislocation. We are currently building our way to
hell.” (David Chinook Bean)
Thank you to
everyone who contributed. You can follow Guardian Cities on Twitter
and Facebook to join the discussion
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