in my city, atlanta, we're seeing the white flight in reverse. the metro has reemerged as the chic place to be. so all the white yuppies are migrating in from the suburbs. they're moving into fixer uppers and brand new stucco conominium atrocities in what have been predominantly low income minority neighborhoods. strip malls full of targets, bed bath & beyond, lowes, home depots, publix, krogers, etc are being erected in areas that most of their shoppers would've been afraid to drive through in 1995.
the glass half full interpretation of this phenomenon is "well the neighborhoods are being beautified and jobs are moving in." but unfortunately that affirmation is not realistic. for the ugly truth is as all this new development comes in the poor folks are being pushed out. property value raises too high for low income renters and owners to withstand this new paradigm. furthermore, pressure from city gov't capitalists and private realstate firms have caused the low to come down even harder on the poor (who are mostly black and hispanic). every week i hear of more homeless being arrested for jaywalking -- that's a bunch of fascist b.s. my white middleclass friends and i jaywalk all the time, even in front of cops and noon bats an eye. most of the public restrooms at parks and such have big evil locks on them and homeless are then arrested for relieving themselves outside. in the same vein many homeless are being arrested for walking on and/or being close to railroad tracks. obviously there is a big push against those that we as a society have ultimately failed to be good neighbors to.
the reverse white flight finds the homeless unsightly and fearsome. so it contributes to their continued persecution. while at the same time the raising property values push a lot of low income people out int6o the street.
this is a devastating phenomenon and it's hard to know what to do.
the glass half full interpretation of this phenomenon is "well the neighborhoods are being beautified and jobs are moving in." but unfortunately that affirmation is not realistic. for the ugly truth is as all this new development comes in the poor folks are being pushed out. property value raises too high for low income renters and owners to withstand this new paradigm. furthermore, pressure from city gov't capitalists and private realstate firms have caused the low to come down even harder on the poor (who are mostly black and hispanic). every week i hear of more homeless being arrested for jaywalking -- that's a bunch of fascist b.s. my white middleclass friends and i jaywalk all the time, even in front of cops and noon bats an eye. most of the public restrooms at parks and such have big evil locks on them and homeless are then arrested for relieving themselves outside. in the same vein many homeless are being arrested for walking on and/or being close to railroad tracks. obviously there is a big push against those that we as a society have ultimately failed to be good neighbors to.
the reverse white flight finds the homeless unsightly and fearsome. so it contributes to their continued persecution. while at the same time the raising property values push a lot of low income people out int6o the street.
this is a devastating phenomenon and it's hard to know what to do.
