Gentrification? Good? Bad?

[Jim O'Bryan]

gentrification
[jen-truh-fi-key-shuh n]

Examples - Word Origin
noun
1. the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.

2. an instance of gentrifying; the condition of being gentrified.

Since our break for the holidays I have had the pleasure of working in various communities from "hip" to "not-so-hip" on new projects. They are all going through various challenges mostly associated with growing and shrinking pains.

Lakewood has been a fairly consistent "middle class community" for over a century.

Gentrification? Good? Bad?

.

[Bill Call]

Good. Someone has to pay the bills.

[Patrick Wadden]

Gentrification comes to mind when I am in Brooklyn, NY, Charlestown, MA or Tremont. Was Lakewood ever far enough gone that it could fall into this definition? It seems to me that Lakewood has been in a constant state of upgrade since the seventies. But to answer your question: Is gentrification good? Yes it is. It almost always means that people are choosing not to live in the outer ring in cities like White Plains, Watertown, or Westlake.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Gentrification comes to mind when I am in Brooklyn, NY, Charlestown, MA or Tremont. Was Lakewood ever far enough gone that it could fall into this definition? It seems to me that Lakewood has been in a constant state of upgrade since the seventies. But to answer your question: Is gentrification good? Yes it is. It almost always means that people are choosing not to live in the outer ring in cities like White Plains, Watertown, or Westlake.

Patrick

For this case let's use a project near and dear to my heart, "Great University Circle" the gentrification of Buckeye, Fairfax, Hough, Glenville, East Cleveland and Little Italy.

Families that have lived there for generations getting to purchase homes between $300,000 and $2 million, if they can swing the loan. Actually nearly free homes with 25 year tax abatement. Forcing nearly 30,000 family groups out of the area that can't acquire the loan into other areas like, Euclid, Lakewood, Garfield Hts., Brookpark. The project well meaning, is to create "Clinicville" were doctors and nurses can live in the area near the clinics, and bike to the lake, and bike back to work along MLK.

Now we all love our neighborhoods to be nicer, or better, but at what cost to the residents there now, to the community that has been built up? What happens to the other communities not part of "their plan." I use this as it is the largest most visible project I was involved with. In the Campus District they closed down some of the roughest community homes in the city, throwing the residents to the wind, so that they could "clean up" the neighborhood with homes the people can purchase as long as they sign it all over to the developers. Fair? Healthy?

Which brings us to Lakewood. A city that has not needed "gentrification" because it has the amazing ability to holds its own through market gains, and bubble burst. It has been able to maintain it value, and place in the county, as they all chase the gentrification dream. Lakewood has been immune to the massive ups and downs I think because we stayed out of the desperate search for cool and gentrification.

But it is here, and the City has bought into it heavily, so we better get into understanding it, and the massive failures associated with it in Cuyahoga County.

.

[Stan Austin]

Gentrification can be rejuvenating as long as the gentrics aren't Geritologists

[cameron karslake]

gentrification
[jen-truh-fi-kay-shun]

A double edged sword, no doubt.

How else is a blighted area to improve in stature? It's all about the $.

$=power therefore no $=no power.

Sad but true state of society. The only power the poor has is the power of a vote.

[Jim O'Bryan]

gentrification
[jen-truh-fi-kay-shun]

A double edged sword, no doubt.

How else is a blighted area to improve in stature? It's all about the $.

$=power therefore no $=no power.

Sad but true state of society. The only power the poor has is the power of a vote.

Well Lakewood had avoided much of this through our diversity and the diversity of the housing stock. However leadership is allowing the sysytem to get out of whack, and we have some more forces coming down on us. Taxes will be going up. They go up every day when schools and city hall make cuts. Less for the same price is an increase in price.

Lakewood never need home runs, they just needed leadership that understood Lakewood, and what it really was.

Then the new crew arrived at our door. Lakewood was not good enough, "we" want it to be like Tremont, German Village etc. Well in all of those places homes were selling for $5,000 or less, so desperate measures were needed. However, Lakewood stayed its funky same middle class community. But with the introduction of big box stores, little shops hurt and close. With the invasion of retail into tight residential neighborhoods see an erosion of values and lifestyle. And in the blink of an eye, the city of Lakewood needs to come up with some thing big, and there is nothing big happening in Cuyahoga County.

It will be interesting.

.

[jackie f taylor]

What do you do ? Let a neighborhood ( located in a very desirable location) just sit there in a state of disrepair, filled with crime, neglect and poverty, an area where no one wants to live, leave it alone? It's a drain on every citizen and resident. Or purchase everything, renovate and yes, relocate. Growth and improvement is better for everyone.

I grew up on West 38th & Lorain Avenue, 1963-1971, went to William Dean Howells, then to West Tech. Me, my neighbors were somewhat poor, we didn't know it, we had what we needed to grow & live, we didn't rob, steal, assualt or break into our neighbors homes or cars. It was safe to walk or sit on your porch till 2:00 AM, any night of the week, no problem.

It was the people visiting and moving into our neighborhoods that ruined it, not the housing. Give people a cheap place to stay warm, out of sight, doing whatever there doing to survive, then that's where they will hoover. You can't change the people, so you change their enviroment.

[jackie f taylor]

Lakewood Hospital, I can understand the need for a more modern efficient institution, I have no problem there, but I hate to see that beautiful old building torn down and replaced with a new shinny glitsy structure. Were loosing Lakewood's character, the Detroit Theater, the old Bishoff's Upholstery building, these structures were not falling apart, they were neglected maybe, much like many others. Can the outside frame, the exterior be saved, do what needs done to the inside, but leave the facade. I'm just asking.