Those of us who follow urban development issues are familiar with neighborhood stewards who organize others to block new development. One reason California housing is so expensive is because of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and local slow growth ordinances, which make it too easy for opponents to derail new housing and business projects. It’s for a reason.
When people think of NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yarders), they usually think of residents in middle-class suburban neighborhoods or wealthy historic districts who don’t want the character of their neighborhoods to change. But the tendency to act like NIMBYs is widespread and afflicts low-income and working-class neighborhoods.
So now we’re witnessing a strange phenomenon happening from Oakland to Los Angeles. There, as wealthy people move in, residents of older, economically distressed neighborhoods are angry. The latest major fire is in Los Angeles’ Frogtown (Elysian Valley) neighborhood, where short-sighted anti-gentrification activists are active. Recently, they successfully stopped a popular flea market crawl.
The Los Angeles Times reported, citing neighborhood activists, that “residents were not just annoyed by the nuisance caused by the crawlers,” but “many also felt that the project was “I grew up believing that it was a symbol of the economic forces that were slowly erasing the close-knit community of the people I grew up with.” ”
Oh please.
As recently as a decade ago, this close-knit community was a gang-infested area known for crime and blight. All regions change. The people of this country have the right to move wherever they choose. Furthermore, gentrification primarily benefits existing neighborhoods as new entrants improve buildings and public spaces and bring new amenities to the area.
As noted in a 2019 study by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, gentrification did not actually push many older residents out of the neighborhood and had little impact on rent prices. In fact, City Commentary explains that poor, non-gentrifying areas have the highest rates of population decline, and that this is a result of poverty rather than new entrants.
Instead of gaining notoriety (“Trust Fund Hipsters”) or canceling popular community events, longtime residents of emerging neighborhoods are working with their new neighbors to ensure that everyone We should build the best possible region for the world.
