My Paper

Gentrification in Chicago

Many local changes can have a great impact on our community and our daily lives. A democratic nation seeks to serve the majority of its citizens, but in many cases the economic interests of few people can hurt those with less economic and political power. One of those complex and controversial changes is that of neighborhood change known as gentrification. Many urban neighborhoods that once suffered from a lack of investment are now places where new homeowners and businesses are moving in. Yet the renewal of the urban landscape is not without cost. Many of the older, long-term residents and low or middle-income renters find themselves squeezed out of their homes because of higher property taxes and rents. Pilsen is a neighborhood made up of the residential sections of the Lower West Side community area of Chicago. Have years of gentrification throughout the neighborhood helped to build it into a more renewed neighborhood better for both the poor and everyone else, or has the increase in properties pushed the older poorer residents out?

There are many advantages to gentrification into cities, but there are also some disadvantages to gentrification. Some of these advantages include; Housing values increase for homeowner, Increase of tax revenues for city service, Reinvestment is made in infrastructure, roads, water mains, local school, Businesses expansion or change to serve new population, Renovation and upgrading of existing housing stock, Development of job opportunities, temporary and long term, Redevelopment of urban core, Reduction of commuting for those working downtown, Concentration of population and public services in existing areas thereby reducing suburban sprawl. But there are also some disadvantages to gentrification these include; Higher income investors displace lower income resident, burden of economic displacement placed on those least able to afford it, disrupts community institutions rooted in neighborhood,...