I think it’s that fear of loss of control, loss of community, coupled with literally centuries of history of control, domination, and destruction in this country that evokes a reaction. And when you see the manifestation of change literally rising up around you in the form of new structures, it’s jarring, to say the least.
I’ve come across a few pieces of information that got me thinking about the aesthetics of gentrification more deeply. The first was
this article by Jerusalem Demsas in reaction to a Tiktok video filled with outraged comments over a “gentrification building” that turned out to be an affordable housing development (
though much of that particular development was for folks making 80 percent of the area median income, which may not be of much help to poor people).
Demsas points out that “For many, the concepts of “new, modern buildings” and “displacement” have simply become inextricable. But the confusion around how the word gentrification is being used has real policy consequences: If people believe that new buildings work against housing affordability, they will oppose the very policies necessary to solve the nation’s housing affordability crisis.”
She then cites Suleiman Osman’s book The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn: Gentrification and the Search for Authenticity in Postwar New York on the way Brooklyn’s iconic brownstones were similarly regarded as inauthentic and cheap. Those brownstones now sell for millions of dollars and are very much a beloved element of Brooklyn.
The second was a
Tiktok video (lol guess I’ve been spending a lot of time on TT lately) about gentrification condos vs affordable housing developments. Essentially, the creator had people guess whether a building was a “gentrification condo” or an affordable housing development, and most people guessed incorrectly.
While I understand and agree with much of what the academic, policy and YIMBY discourse around new construction says, I do think there’s an implication that the people who live in gentrifying communities – predominantly people of color – just don’t understand, just don’t know what’s good for them. And that’s some neoliberal, paternalistic shi*t that we need to be extremely mindful of.
I appreciate
this analysis from Amber Delgado in Scallawag from a couple of years ago because it hones in on the politics of aesthetics. “Every system of political and social thought is accompanied by a symbolic system, an iconography that expresses and visually promotes the values of the political project. And gentrification—or revitalization, or urban renewal, or ‘negro removal’—is no different.”
In essence, Delgado shares, new development fits a certain modern aesthetic that sends messages to the neighborhood’s existing residents: this is how you should want to live or worse, you’re no longer welcome here (despite what the yard signs may say).
None of this is simple. There’s a whole arm of gentrification study that centers on cultural displacement, a very real impact that comes with market-driven neighborhood change. It’s also true that we need more housing and more dense housing. Row house conversions into condos or apartments used to make me so angry – they’re destroying history! But now? Now I see that where one lot used to equal one housing unit, it equals two (or three or four). The cost of building materials is also astronomical in comparison to what it was in the early-to-mid 1900s when much of DC’s housing stock was built, and the more modern-looking materials are apparently much cheaper.
As an old house lover, I’m torn. Preservation and restoration are expensive both in time and in money. Preservation has also been used as a weapon by groups to resist building more housing. If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this!
Honestly y’all, my dual degree doesn’t require a thesis or dissertation, but I kind of want to write one on this topic. I think housing and land use policy people have a lot of work to do when it comes to
winning the narrative or gaining public support for progressive housing policies in general, particularly given how much power the real estate industry has.
Everyone wants to live in a nice neighborhood, but not everyone has the same vision for what that looks and feels like.
I hope to see you in
Summer Reading Club next Wednesday, July 6 – and remember, we won’t have a new newsletter that day in lieu of reading club.
Until next week,
🧡 Dominique
PS – sorry the newsletter is a few days late this week. Life, ya know.
