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‘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
Wed 5 Oct
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,
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)
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)
Polanco.
“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)
‘Goutte
d’Or is maybe one of the last areas in central Paris trying to resist
gentrification’.
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)
Construction
cranes at project site in the Pearl District Portland Oregon
Portland,
US: ‘We are currently building our way to hell’
“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
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