Who Is Ruben Wills?

To help counter these negative racial effects, there have been different movements in the borough to help concentrate the influence of communities that have traditionally lived in the area. Middle class African Americans in Brooklyn, specifically, have searched for ways to continue to help define Brooklyn in a way that isn’t resistant to change, but that helps to keep the influence of groups such as black Brooklynites inside the

to make a “problem” disappear? They will be the human cost of gentrification. Unless the city in partnership with the business community and its Downtown Eastside residents can attain a solution together, it is difficult to fathom a future that is just, regardless of its economic promise.

Anderson notes that two groups coexist simultaneously in the inner-cities which he labels as the “decent” and the “streets.” Although both groups suffer economic difficulties, they differ in values mainly instilled through parenting and the home environment. The decent group seeks to adopt mainstream middle-class values, such as a love,

For many Americans, the simple mention of the word “neighborhood” immediately conjures up memories of Fred Rogers singing the iconic theme song of his long-running PBS show, “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” A typical episode of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood featured appearances from many of Mr. Rogers’ neighbors, such as Officer Clemmons, a black police officer who would often drop by to teach viewers about the job of policing, to impart some practical wisdom for living peacefully with one’s neighbors, or simply to check up on the kind, cardigan-wearing man. Characters like Officer Clemmons added to the overt portrayal of Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood as a place of cooperation, encouragement, and positivity. In a recent NPR interview, Francois Clemmons,

“people around here are willing to help their neighbors, this a close knit neighborhood, people in this neighborhood can be trusted, people in the neighborhood generally don’t get along with each other and people in this neighborhood don’t share the same values” (Sampson et al., 1997, 920).

An issue that that was discussed in class that was resonant to me was on the issue of gentrification. Gentrification is known as the process of renovating and renewing deteriorating communities that are often home of low income families in order to conform to the taste of the middle class. This concept has been taking place for years in a variety of locations all over the country such as San Francisco, New York City and even Los Angeles. I live in an area in Los Angeles known as highland park which is a location that has slowly been gentrified and has altered the lives of many people I know around me. The neighborhood that I am from has slowly been changing due to the fact that it is so close to a very prestigious and well known private college

City street lights mark the edges and corners of blocked off territory. Land labeled “ghetto” and “dangerous” translates to land that was ignored for the profit of the few. This land exists a short drive away from us, they are backyards to the neighborhoods we chose not to stray from. They are West Garfield Park, East St. Louis, Englewood, The Ville, and every impoverished community that suffered in isolation while those around watched. Our generation can be quick to judge the actions of oppressors or the lack of necessary change in our history, however a lot of these remarks can be made about today’s segregated neighborhoods. In cities such as St. Louis, where segregation is deep rooted and has allowed further issues to stem from such divisions, the voice of the community is often silenced by quick, misguided assumptions on such areas. These are not “bad neighborhoods” they are not populated by “bad people”, but are rather neglected portions of a city that has found it easier to accept these stereotypes than look beyond the superficial. We have the tools and knowledge to solidify that there is more to these neighborhoods than gangs or torn down houses, the question is now what do we do with them?

Viewing the complex matter of gentrification succinctly, it helps to uncover how multifaceted it is; in that gentrification involves the oppression, marginalization, displacement of vulnerable populations, particularly, the poor, and the black who are often already negatively impacted by the effects of classism, and racism. Gentrification threatens to erode the communities and livelihood maintained by these set of people because their displacement becomes a precondition for the total transformation of the area.

You said you are a mayor for the working class and their families and sought to protect our most vulnerable people from mistreatment. But the gap of wealth is getting larger and gentrification isn’t helping the people of New York City, it destroying us. Taking Greenpoint for example, it becoming a more desirable place for hipster and people who are starting new family, while catching the eyes of developer who want to do the same buy the areas around Geenpoint. I myself had seen these changes first handed by just walking down these old street that I had been walking for the past 18 years. I can say that some of the changes are good because they are fixing the areas up (by the river), adding

In America there are lot of changes happening, in fact they are happening so fast many people so not realize what is going on until it is too late. One of the major things going on right now is a process called Gentrification, which is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district’s character and culture. The term is often used negatively, suggesting the displacement of poor communities by rich outsiders (Bryant, 2013). Gentrification has been the cause of painful conflict in many American cities, often along racial and economic fault lines. Neighborhood change is often viewed as a miscarriage of social justice, in which wealthy, usually white, newcomers are congratulated for “improving” a neighborhood whose poor, minority residents are displaced by skyrocketing rents and economic change (Bryant, 2013). Gentrification is changing neighborhoods and pushing so many residents out, while at the same time bringing in a lot of wealth, which makes these changes hard to say no to. But with that neighborhoods are losing the culture and diversity that has made the Bay Area what it is today and with the culture and diversity gone they are losing a big part of what makes it such a great place to live.

Lack of evenly distributed prosperity in Durham has been at the forefront of the mayoral election. Martin posed a question to the candidates regarding the city’s growth but inability of citizens’ to reap the benefits of its development; and how they would handle this if elected as mayor. Ali readily responded, “As we see growth in our city occurring, making sure we have policy for inclusion is important” and added an antedote about the drastic improvements his non-profit, working in conjunction with the city of Durham, had on minority and women-owned firms, underscoring his experience and enthusiasm to help all of Durham. Ali finally noted that I elected, his goal is prosperity “not just for the big people or the companies or the organizations that we are contracting with, but to make sure that we are able to spread that around so that other people can participate in this prosperity”.

Interviewer #1 said that “Families keep moving in and out of the neighborhoods. This has caused a shift in the racial dynamics and age group living in the neighborhood. There has been a increasing amount of people working in the tech industry moving into the neighborhood. Ultimately, changing the dynamics of the area.” Interviewers #2 proclaimed that, “Over the last 10 years that I have lived in Dolores heights , I have seen to see a higher amount of homeless people in my neighborhood and mentally disturbed people – in this area, you kind of watch and track newsletter- lots of turn over in business – some businesses that have been around for a long time that have closed. Not a lot of vacancies—people have lost favor with this type of crowd or its not popular anymore—not able to pay for the increase rent of the building—increase rent of the businesses significantly- but what can you do or say.” Lastly, Interviewer #3 declared that, “The Castro is genuinely inclusive, with transplants very prevalent. Most of the people who hang around my neighborhood aren’t residents, but rather, visitors. Long term renters being kicked out due to rent increase, and in general an increased standard of living. It does cater to a range of ages and abilities, if the income is

Economic segregation has lead to many negative implications for those living in separate areas. Often times they are limited in terms of institutions that support collective efficacy. Mill Street Loft could work to empower young people to join the community and help make it better through their programs. Perhaps they could even do community outreaches and paint Main Street, or clean up a park and display a piece of artwork they have created. If people see a positive change in the city they will inevitably want to help and in turn, gain more control over the negative aspects of the city. This ties in with the “broken windows” theory; if Poughkeepsie continues to benefit from MSL’s work and the city is cleaned up, crime rates may decrease, in part because of the theory and due to the people working together to unite Poughkeepsie. If the community is knit together (social cohesion) the social order will follow. Another area presenting a challenge to collective efficacy is immigration. Many people who are new to this country are lacking a sense of community and a place in the environment. If MSL could cultivate a deep sense of belonging within Habilidad, the kids would likely get involved and in time, this purpose would influence the

However, the issue of gentrification is present. If an area known for its mentally ill population has an art piece advocating for awareness, and suddenly the yuppies want it removed from the area for showing the uglier side of life, then it gets sticky. This selectivity creates carves communities, and creates something as narrow as a small town in a big city. Coming from a tiny town in the middle of rural nowhere, the amount of racism, political and economic divides I’ve faced is astounding. To keep up this image of a neat

The maker of the Rubens' tube was Heinrich Ruben. He was born in 1865 and died on 1922. The Rubens tube was created in 1905 by Heinrich Rubens and Max Planck to find the sound wavelength. Heinrich was a professor at University of Berlin. The Rubens tube was a four meter pipe with 200 holes stretched along it evenly spaced. The reason the flames come out of the holes is because all of the ends are sealed so they can only go out of the holes drilled.