One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and one man’s progress can be another man’s downfall. Gentrification can benefit some people, but for others, it can be a life-changing calamity that forces them to uproot from neighborhoods they may have lived in for generations. Some people on Reddit have shared signs of what to look for when neighborhoods start gentrifying, and some of them have even highlighted why some of these changes can be so problematic.
Have you seen any of these signs in your neighborhood? Also – perhaps more importantly – would you consider yourself a beneficiary or a victim of these changes?
#1
The FIRST sign is the first quirky coffee shop that isn't a Starbucks. See one of those, and grab you some real estate, because the bougies are coming, and they're bringing stupid housing prices with them.
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39points
As rent and housing prices rise in the US, gentrification can move hand-in-hand to make many places more unaffordable for large groups of Americans. As neighborhoods gentrify, rents, taxes and cost of living increase, forcing out lower-income residents.
#4
I think by the time you start seeing it, it's already happened. Displacement and rent increases are mostly invisible (comparatively). By the time the new condos and bougie shops sprout up, it's because it's already past the tipping point.
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30points
#5
Gentrification isn't random. It's an ongoing process. I live in Charleston, South Carolina. We've experienced significant growth in my lifetime. We've gotten to the point where building new neighborhoods further out is an increasingly less viable option. Add to this, large employers moving into North Charleston, and you have a recipe for gentrification. This isn't because someone bought an old gas station and turned it into an art gallery. It's because people need a place to live, and industry is growing in our city. Those art galleries and taco shops are responding to the same economic conditions that the developers are. They see an economically depressed area in commuter distance to major employers.
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27points
#6
People running or jogging, especially during the weekday mornings.
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26points
According to governing.com, gentrification is increasing in the US. “Nearly 20 percent of neighborhoods with lower incomes and home values have experienced gentrification since 2000, compared to only 9 percent during the 1990s.”
#7
I tell this story all the time. years ago, I was driving down Telegraph near the Fox Theater with my wife at about 2am. While at a stoplight, we saw a white woman jog out of one of the very dark streets onto Telegraph with headphones on, workout gear, etc. We looked at each other and without a word realized what the other was thinking. We bought a house the next month.
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24points
#8
White people. I have Pacific Islander friend he was jumping for joy the other day because he saw white people jogging in his neighborhood. His house is about to double in value.
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23points
#10
If you follow your local newspapers and you start reading about apartments being sold and the new owners wanting to renovate is a sign. This type of action by the new owner will usually come with mass eviction notices. Especially, if they are rent controlled and support certain demographics like senior citizens or those who are lower income. Then when the reno is complete, new owner jacks the rent up ensuring old tenants can't ever come back. Sending displaced tenant away like a ripple effect to the next cheapest block or city. Then the neighboring apartment buildings say, well the apartments next door are charging the new amount, so should I, then the next wave starts, w/out the renovations. The cycle continues. Demand in the new area for newly displaced or gentrified population will then be focused on by the last corporate apartments buyers to do it all again, until we all live in a van down by the river.
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17points
#12
Mass buying of local properties by real estate investors, while pricing out local buyers.
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17points
#13
The 'artisan' restaurants that make a classic food (burger, taco, etc.) and make them 25 dollars because of their premium 'aiolis' or other fancy ingredients. They're usually decorated with a graphic of the parts of a cow or pig.
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14points
#14
Dispensaries, graffiti replaced with murals, coffee shops and breweries, bike lanes that take up a whole lane as well as other questionable planning, and tons of condos that look like legos
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13points
#15
micro breweries and communal marketplaces, martinez just got one downtown, gonna be unaffordable soon
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12points
#16
Old buildings/apt complexes start randomly 'catching on fire'
More joggers in the area
Gay couples moving in
More houses getting renovated
City projects to 'improve' the streets or public transportation
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11points
#17
I saw a dude out walking his cat. I know that was the beginning of the end.
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11points
#18
At some point, an organic grocery store opens up. The crime rate goes down over time. Home prices/rents go up quickly. More coffee shops and breweries.
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11points
#19
vegan restaurants and places that sell scotch and grilled cheese with over priced coffee Brewery and crossfit gym
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10points
