Have you ever wondered why people in your area get kicked out of their homes? I see my neighbors being kicked out of their homes and replaced with people who seem like they have more money. This is called gentrification: the phenomenon that occurs when people of a lower socioeconomic level are priced out of their homes by people of higher income levels. This displacement of longtime residents makes housing less affordable and reshapes communities, leaving behind social and economic inequality.
The article “DC’s Poorest Residents Fight Displacement by Gentrification” says that the “beginning stages of gentrification [start] with plans to demolish public housing, like Barry Farm. And if the past decade has taught them anything, it is that gentrification usually leaves longtime low-income residents out in the cold – literally.” Washington, DC is being gentrified in more areas than you might think. Wards 7 and 8, the areas of the city that are east of the Anacostia River, are the parts of the city most affected by gentrification. According to the NPR show, “The Voices Of Wards 7 & 8,” “In Wards 7 and 8, gentrification is making its way east of the river. Barry Farms, a historic public housing development in Ward 8 that has been home to Black residents since the end of the Civil War, has been slated for redevelopment for years but has been tied up in litigation over the residents that have been displaced.” So the housing of people who are less fortunate financially is being taken over by people who are more wealthy, sometimes forcing people of lower incomes out onto the streets.
One way to stop gentrification in DC could be informing our neighbors about the fact that our city is being gentrified. The neighbors we inform about gentrification can be called reformers– people who advocate to stop and reshape things in your neighborhood. The article, “Four Steps to Stopping Gentrification,” published in the CU Denver News, gives us four ideas on how to stop gentrification. Two of these are advocating to increase house supply and advocating for more publicly subsidized housing. Another solution they suggest is to develop your awareness of which neighborhoods are vulnerable to gentrification, such as walkable neighborhoods near public transportation, and working to protect them. The article says, “Finally, we have to support grassroots groups working to organize residents in the fight against involuntary displacement.” It goes on to say, “At the same time, we need to start electing leaders who champion anti-gentrification platforms instead of those who merely blame the market for these inequities (I would argue that cities, in fact, create markets through plans and policies).”
Overall, DC being gentrified matters to me because in my neighborhood, I usually see homeless people and people actively being kicked out of their homes. I don’t want to keep witnessing that while living in DC, and I don’t want other people to experience it. Let’s work together to raise awareness of, and halt, gentrification.
