Gentrification in Riverside

High-rises are soaring across the perimeters of Riverside Drive.  Throughout these past two years, I've watched buildings come up almost as quickly as old ones have come down.  With the scenic lake amenity nearby, it makes sense for developers to envision life along the edge of Town Lake.
For a while, I couldn't quite figure out why Riverside was the lucky candidate.  All too often, my peers made comments about the "inclined incidents of crime" assumed in the surrounding area.  I found it curiously nice that the city was implementing something new and refreshing to revitalize the barren Riverside community.

Until I realized it was all a part of the gentrification process, that is.

To understand gentrification, it is first important to clarify what gentrification is not.  Tom Angotti is a professor of urban affairs and planning at Hunter College, and he states:

"Gentrification is not the same as change in neighborhoods.  Change occurs all the time and in every neighborhood:  People move in and out, buildings fall into disrepair and undergo renovation, and businesses come and go.   Gentrification is not improvement of housing, public space, and the physical improvement of the environment.  That can and does happen without gentrification.  Gentrification is not the arrival of “different” people—although that is often a part of it."

What gentrification is, on the other hand, is very controversial.  It begins as an interchange of dialogue between the people moving out and the gentrifiers, or the people moving in.  Longtime residents and businesses leave the area due to increasing land values as wealthy, affluent newcomers seek the opportunity to create flourishing markets and homes.

I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. I marveled at the fancy street-level retail and stacked condominiums, but wondered what sort of person would even be attracted to this area -- especially with such a strongly associated negative reputation.  Yet, if we continued to think of Riverside for it's characteristic flaws, then would the future of its community ever thrive? 

And could Riverside truly be a mix of people with polar differences on the scale of socioeconomic status?

The problem with gentrification, particularly in Riverside, was that I constantly pondered about where the leaving people were fleeing to.  Riverside wants to improve its physical environment for the people who inhabit it, but it seems to need a solution that involves improvement for the existing community.  The new populations seemed disruptive to the neighborhoods I initially knew and almost seemed to suggest that the existing residents were incapable of growth.  Additionally, if the existing residents migrated to new locations to begin anew, would the cycle of displacement not begin again?

The strange thing is that the gentrification process really does seem to be working quite successfully in Riverside, although (for me) it seems unfair from a social and ethical approach.  I don't know what alternative solutions may be at this point, but I am certainly determined to synthesize some options.

Everyone has belong somewhere, after all.