Problems with Little Tokyo Community

There has been a recent phenomenon throughout the United States of gentrification. As older parts of neighborhoods are occupied by new tenants with money, the neighborhood changes and loses its old character. Those who might have lived in those neighborhoods their entire lives are pushed out as rents begin to skyrocket and the surroundings begin to change. This has happened in many neighborhoods. One of the most well known is San Francisco, where technology companies have brought in new software engineers that have caused local rents to skyrocket and people to move out of the area. However, just as importantly has been the influx of new money to Brooklyn, where local neighborhood changes have forced people from their homes, traditional music to be replaced, and old businesses to go bankrupt.

In the constantly changing economy of cities, the growth of city housing is oftentimes neglected. In “Cities Mobilize to Help Those Threatened by Gentrification” Timothy Williams recounts how gentrification has evolved over the years. Mentioning how cities have changed in order to appease the younger professionals, Williams shows how the city itself is in jeopardy due to the tax increases. Slowly loosing their faithful residents as well as historic culture cities face a big deal. Williams gives quotes from faithful residents, “…long time homeowners are victims of the success story”, (Williams 346). In “Cities Mobilize to Help Those Threatened by Gentrification”, Williams uses his credible quotes and modern statistics to generate the reader’s emotions, with desire to change how city officials go about gentrification in culturally infused cities.

This may seem controversial as some people may not be able to understand how public parks benefit anyone. Public parks may seem purely aesthetic and ornamental, adding no true value to society, therefore some would argue that the government has no justification for taking their property.

Bobby Lefebre says, “Watching everything I love about my neighborhood slowly walk into a mere memory is disheartening. It seems like every day there is a new institution, business, or mural being cleared away to make room for the new.” This quote not only helps you understand just how upsetting gentrification is to people who were rooted in these areas, but also how the original atmosphere is no longer apart of the neighborhood. These Chicanos, are not saying that people of other races or backgrounds cannot live in these neighborhoods as well, they just want it to be the same tight knit group of people who are able to help each other out and provide information to people of the same background. The idea of a tight knit community plays an important role in preservation and is imperative to these individual’s survival. Bobby Lefebre also writes, “Let’s honor our past by ensuring Northside communities of all backgrounds are not erased. Let’s work together to preserve our diverse traditions and cultural artifacts; even if preservation means creating things anew.” Even though gentrification is happening in multiple neighborhoods, there is still ideas for how to keep the original feel and the historical value that people who have lived in the area for a long time would benefit from and help give peace of mind, with the changes that are happening in their neighborhood. The ongoing stories of these people can remain in the neighborhood and will grow with them as well as the growing communities. Jolie Diepenhorst comments at the end of Bobby Lefebre’s article and her comment is another voice for how truly upsetting gentrification is to people and the history of the area. She says, “This is a beautifully written piece that illustrates everything that is

In Chapter 4 of On the Border by Char Miller, he discusses the importance of San Antonio's park system and how it can to be with the help of elected city officials. He conveys that in the 1990s- Mario Salas was elected as the councilman of District 2, which serves the east side of San Antonio. His goals were to increase the number of parks in the east side in order to expand that side of town. The East Side of San Antonio has always been a historically black neighborhood. In the 20th century, San Antonio had a commissioner style government in order to create a city of parks.

When cities begin their journey of being gentrified, many locals become displaced. Displacement is when locals are uprooted from their homes, due to outside factors, and forced to move elsewhere. According to the Urban Displacement Project conducted by U.C. Berkeley, “Gentrification results from both flows of capital and people. The extent to which gentrification is linked to racial transition differs across neighborhood contexts... Displacement takes many different forms—direct and indirect, physical or economic, and exclusionary—and may result from either investment or disinvestment” (U.C. Berkeley). Many people are coming into San Francisco’s Bay Area because of how diverse each element is. However, according to Census numbers, between 1990 and 2010, 35.7% of San Francisco’s black population dwindled (Bliss). 35.7% of the black community within San Francisco suffered from displacement. An additional 53% of low-income households in the Bay Area are at risk for displacement and gentrification (U.C. Berkeley). This has definitely left a dent within the diversity reputation held up by the Bay Area. When such a strong large part of people leave, The City will experience a shift in culture and community. Whether, it is the real estate, the food, the different cultures, the Bay Area has always been known for being different. Perhaps, this is why so many outsiders are coming in and buying up every piece of land they can. Whether their intentions were to purchase land and

Many parks are not large spaces. There are many small urban areas set aside for public use. These are generally referred to as:

In the communities I grew up in, there were frequent changing circumstances that actually left my family not really as part of the community. From dingy, cheap and tiny places for rent, there has been significant points brought to the attention of the reader in this book that could attribute to the failure and success of neighborhoods. In Suburban Nation, the opening pages give a lot of insight on the issues that can come from these big and fancy, new housing developments.

Chinatown is an ethnic neighborhood in the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, California. The grand opening of Chinatown took place on June 25, 1938 in Central Plaza, which would later become well-known for its dynamic Chinese American community. However, the original Chinatown, now referred to as “Old Chinatown”, developed around 1870. With the migration and settlement of Chinese in Los Angeles throughout the late 19th century, a recognizable neighborhood (“Chinatown”) was established on Calle de Los Negros between El Pueblo Plaza and Old Arcadia Street. As the Chinese workers dominated in their fields, their neighborhood grew significantly. Old Chinatown spread farther and achieved a population of more than 3000 people. It was not only a residential

The Articles of the “Boyd Defensive Development” and “Hwang & Sampson Gentrification” discuss the idea of Gentrification through analytics, examples, and deep research through the city of Chicago during a relative time. The Boyd Defensive Development uses historical and ethnographic research to strategically protect total control of their neighborhoods by white residents and developers. Hwang and Sampson Gentrification uses many social observations with examples from google maps, census data, etc. to reflect effects on Gentrification throughout communities.

The town has a scarce amount of public space for recreation so I believe that when things are created they should equally serve all the towns people. The town already has a very low amount of public goods and for the goods that are available they're too pricey for everyone to attend. I feel that it would be a good idea to make a dog park, but they should also split it into two and make another park that's usable for the towns people and children. That way nobody will feel left out and they can make the best use of the small public space availability. Also the local schools would be very close to the dog park so the children could make use of the park if it was for both pets and

These improved housing will increase the neighborhood and property value, increase social mixed, reduce crime rate, and reduce vacancy rates. While the superficial key of gentrification is the upgrade of housing, there is actually other great benefits that gentrification bring to the neighborhoods. In terms of symbolic implications for urban change, gentrification is the urban changes and improvement which also redevelop the area’s image. Fancy restaurants, high-priced boutiques and shops, high houses’ values, and fancy house have changed the neighborhood's image or symbol from a rural neighborhood (before gentrification) to a high-class neighborhood (after gentrification). Gentrification has certainly restructure the economic of one’s neighborhood by bringing up new standard in consumption. The decrease in crime rates and increase in property value can stabilize the previously struggling neighborhood, restoring interest in the inner city life as a residential. These changes are able to encourage other forms of development of the area that promote the economic

Perhaps the most definitive example of New Urbanism has been DPZ's project, Kentlands, a 352-acre community in Gaithersburg, Maryland begun in 1990. An oasis of good planning in a sea of suburbia, it is not only a model of Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND) but also the predecessor to many other such neighborhoods developed within CSD areas. In Kentlands, much like Seaside, the Citizens' Assembly runs a recreation center and provides for common maintenance of public areas. Civic buildings and shopping in mixed-use buildings are within walking distance of the development's six architecturally distinct neighborhoods. This compact design reduces auto traffic significantly, allows children to go about their daily business without requiring a mother chauffeur and puts workplaces near their employees.5

This topic is very significant because over the past several decades, urban and neighborhood planners have strayed away from green spaces throughout their projects. Green spaces encourage interaction among citizens as well as improving the environment in the vicinity. In this divisive political climate, it is almost necessary to provide areas where families and individuals can come together and enjoy a less stressful environment.

Urban parks are defined in their comparative and contrastive relationships to the urban environments surrounding them. Although frequently conceptualized as natural landscapes, the physical and social uses of parks give