Why Are Housing Building Near Freeways?

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.

Introduction- The East Bay area is an economically diverse community with many satisfactory and unsatisfactory aspects. Each city had its differences and distinctions in people, settings, and cleanliness. As the bus left the station and went around the corner I could tell that we were in a low poverty city. With loose trash and debris in front of houses and apartment buildings, the area looked torn down and not very visual pleasing. Already familiar with the city of Emeryville I knew to expect a more upscale location. With plenty of name brand stores, and new apartment complexes, it was obvious this city was clean and very different from the previous location. As the bus

However through urban planning and development, solutions can be discovered and put into action to allow easier flow into urbanism. Transportation issues for example can be resolved by planning for the future of Los Angeles and by investing in the public transportation system. An example of this would be investing in bike paths, lanes, and routes so that people with low income, such as Hispanic immigrants, can travel to their locations in an easier manner through biking. An investment “to fill in gaps and complete the citywide bike plan” for this method of transportation “calls for nearly 1,700 miles of new and upgraded paths and lanes before 2035,” which can seem difficult but possible (Laura J. Nelson). Biking as a new main method of transportation “can help reduce crashes of all types and assist in reaching an ambitious new city goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2025” (Laura J. Nelson). A solution to gentrification through urban planning is to instead focus on a new method of development called Asset Based Community Development. Through this different urban revitalization process, an inside out approach is taken where development occurs by focusing on the communities’ assets and building upon them, unlike gentrification. When the community is dedicated and determined to rebuild their torn down neighborhoods, it is possible to bring new life to the neighborhood by focusing on assets such

In Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 374 (1994), building a parking lot will increase the quantity and rate of storm-water flow from the property, thus keeping the floodplain free from the development would likely confine the pressures on Fanno Creek created by the new development. However, this was not enough for the city; the city wanted the land for itself. According to Justice Rhenquist, “the city must make some effort to quantify its findings in *396 support of the dedication it asks for” (Dolan v. City of Tigard 1994, 5). San Jose’s law does not solve the issue of increasing low-income housing, but instead harms entrepreneurs. The City of San Jose has made no effort to meet its burden to show that developers of new homes are somehow responsible for the astronomical prices of housing in the city. The law is an impediment to growth, an interference with the free market and an exceedingly expensive cost-per-unit way of integrating lower incomes into high land-value

These changes in the neighborhood emphasizes the process being done by gentrification. Seeing these changes in the area may be difficult and unfair from a perspective of local people who have been there for many years but it is essential to recognize that Bay Area is one of the areas that has continued to improve economically and it has become one of the most expensive places to live in United States. In other words, replacement of local people and businesses are “just” because people striving for their economic growth and greater opportunity is inevitable because our society has become materialistic and if the local people were in position of gentrifying process they would do the same. Although Gentrification is justifiable, I believe there are room for improvements and changes in the harmful process. For example, the people who are in the position of replacement should respect the history of the city and inherit some of the cultures and create buildings that fits in the community and represents the culture. In conclusion, Gentrification is a justifiable process of changes and improvements that are ultimately inevitable but it is also essential to recognize and inherit the the values, culture, and community that the city has build over

Steen, Karen. "How Leftover Urban Spaces Can Fix Big Problems for San Francisco." SPUR. N.p., 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2016. .

The gentrification of a neighborhood can bring the neighborhood down as a whole. It changes the neighborhood in a negative way. The many families who were displaced and driven out by the gentrification process took the great qualities which make the neighborhood a whole with them. The feeling of friendliness in the community was driven out with its old residents. You used to be able to walk down the street and see five or six people you knew to have a nice conversation about sports or the weather with turning a five minute trip to the supermarket into a 30 minute trip. This doesn’t happen anymore, the neighborhoods are being filled with more

According to Stacey Sutton, PhD, member of the Department of Urban Planning and Policy, in her New York Tedx talk, gentrification is fundamentally a social justice problem.” This means that gentrification has many effects to its neighborhood and its residents. One main problem that gentrification had brought was displacement. Due to changes in the urban neighborhood, prices of living had increased, where many of the renters have no choice than to leave the neighborhood because it's unaffordable. As Tom Slater, an urban geographer, said, “gentrification is the spatial expression of economic inequality.” When higher class people moved to an urban area and invest and take advantage to a low property, it raised the property value and displaced the people who cannot afford it, hence, the low income people.

Over the past twenty years, San Francisco’s Mission District has experienced a tremendous amount of change. Similar to many neighborhoods across the United States, it has been undergoing a gentrification process in which increases in housing prices, redevelopment in buildings, and a shortage of rental units have left many of its low-income population homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless. In order to understand the controversial issue revolving around the gentrification process taking place the Mission District, it is essential to know the history of the Mission District, San Francisco’s geography and housing laws, and the socioeconomic impacts of gentrification.

Besides developers, the government also plays an important role in gentrification. For instance, HOPE VI program given by government also contribute to the gentrification. This HOPE VI has included a variety of grant programs including: Revitalization, Demolition, Main Street, and Planning grant programs. Those grant programs in HOPE VI is indirectly contributed to gentrification. Some critics said that government use the program as a legal means to evict poor residents in favor of more affluent residents in a process of gentrification. In fact, there are many reasons for government to support gentrification. First, government supports gentrification because it can lead to increase the government's revenue. For instance, since whites constantly

The hot economy and job market in the Bay Area contributes to a severe housing crisis, which causes a lack of affordable homes and apartments for middle class families. Extreme cost of housing has developed as a threat to the state’s future economy and quality of life. The debate over housing has become the center of state and local politics with the

The convenience of living in an urban or suburban neighborhood can be appealing to many people. Choosing between areas can sometimes be overwhelming for some individual. People are not only concerned about the safety of a community, but they are also concerned about the environment. Although some neighborhoods might look attractive, people should consider the expense that comes with it, and how commuting will affect them in the long run. Nevertheless, both neighborhoods have their specific advantages and disadvantages. When choosing between an urban or suburban neighborhood, it is important for people to research the community, the expense, and convenience

In today’s society, it may seem that gentrification can eliminate poverty and increase neighborhood opportunities. Low-income residents and property owners will be the first to be altered by gentrification. In an email to the editor at the Atlantic, Freeman, the director of the Urban Planning program at Columbia states “ Gentrification brings new amenities and services that benefit not only the newcomers but long term residents too. Full service

An emerging issue is that of urban sprawl. While some aspects of urban sprawl has been seen since ancient times, this phenomenon has started gaining the most momentum in the past century, aided by the advancement of technology, especially with the rise of mass produced automobiles, houses and highway systems. Many people unknowingly contribute to this environmental problem, as is the nature of it. Urban sprawl deals with the growth of the suburbs, the area between the urban and rural areas of a city. Most of America’s largest cities and states, in terms of population, are prime examples of urban sprawl. Opponents of urban sprawl usually cite the government as a major cause of sprawl. The government may be a major catalyst of

Recall the last time you drove across the Golden Gate Bridge; looking to the sea and seeing the whitecaps break against the rocks, and then looking at the bay and seeing the shimmering aqua colored water filled with sailboats. But now, try and imagine a very different picture, you look towards the bay and see oil slicks, floating tires, and islands of trash as the smell of rotting fish, gasoline and sewage fill your nose. This may sound strange and fictional, but the truth is it isn’t far from possible. In fact, some of the these pollutants are flowing into the San Francisco bay already. Imagine living next to a place like this, how would that make you feel? More importantly, what are the physical health effects as a result of these pollutants? In the following article, we will explore how something like this is possible (if not probable), and what effects it could have on the health of the Bay Area.