Gentrification in San Francisco's Mission District
San Francisco's Mission District has long been heavily populated by Latino communities and has historically been subject to gentrification due to the expansion of technology. First, to quickly explain what gentrification is it's essentially when areas change so they fit a more "middle-class taste". Specifically, it's the process of renovating deteriorated urban neighbourhoods by means of the influx of more affluent residents. Gentrification frequently comes up as a controversial topic in politics and in urban planning. Going back to the expansion of technology in the Mission District the cost of living and rent prices increased by a lot in the late 1990s due to the Dot-com bubble boom. The Mission District was chosen as a place for many higher-income, white tech workers to live because of the culture, high density of the neighbourhood, and the multiple forms of transportation with good access to both the SF Financial District and the rest of Silicon Valley. The dot-com boom is also known as the Mission District's first wave of gentrification. After the dot-com bubble burst, the Mission District experienced less gentrification during the period of economic recovery, however, it remained an area with increasing amounts of high-income, tech workers.
Since 1980, the Latino population in the Mission District decreased from 44% to 38% in 2013. This was coupled with an increase in the population of white people in the Mission District from 36% in 1980 to 43% in 2013. Furthermore, the number of residents in the Mission District without a high school diploma decreased from 41% in 1980 to 17% in 2003, while the number of residents in the Mission District with a four-year college degree increased from 18% in 1980 to 52% in 2003.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification_of_San_Francisco#Gentrification_in_the_Mission_District
http://archive.pov.org/flagwars/what-is-gentrification/
Since 1980, the Latino population in the Mission District decreased from 44% to 38% in 2013. This was coupled with an increase in the population of white people in the Mission District from 36% in 1980 to 43% in 2013. Furthermore, the number of residents in the Mission District without a high school diploma decreased from 41% in 1980 to 17% in 2003, while the number of residents in the Mission District with a four-year college degree increased from 18% in 1980 to 52% in 2003.Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification_of_San_Francisco#Gentrification_in_the_Mission_District
http://archive.pov.org/flagwars/what-is-gentrification/
Nice post Belen. Something similar has happened in East Palo Alto. East Palo Alto once had one of the highest murder rates in the United States. However, since the influx of technological companies into the Silicon Valley, like what you touched on. Although East Palo Alto is still seen as a lower income portion of the Silicon Valley, EPA has become much more populated by the tech industry which has driven up the housing market prices, pricing out lower income families not only out of East Palo Alto but of the bay area.
ReplyDeleteI found this post really interesting as I always hear people talk about gentrification in the bay area, but I have never really looked up or heard the numbers, so that was a good addition! We usually focus on the good that technology brings the silicon valley, but there are some issues that it brings, gentrification being one, that it causes.
ReplyDeleteSadly the outcome of all of this gentrification in San Francisco had displaced many families. Mission district being once occupied primarily by low-income Black and Latino populations, has now become a cosmopolitan social space for many of San Francisco’s wealthier residents. But, the low income members made a positive approach on the situation and very creatively as they work toward preservation strategies from two perspectives: The business of restorative economics at La Cocina Community Kitchen, and all-inclusive social services at the Dolores Street Community Services Shelter. As the economy of the San Francisco’s Mission District is centered around culinary businesses, this community kitchen is a hot spot for low-income Mission residents looking to become self-sufficient entrepreneurs.Dolores street community Services Shelter runs churches and residential properties in the neighborhood that are some of the safest spaces for people at risk of being institutionalized. These two organizations prove that the key to handling gentrification as a minority is community empowerment.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I go to SF, I go to this little whole in the wall market in the Mission District. And at the back of the market there is this little counter top where they only speak Spanish. I always say "Hola, puedo tener nachos sin carne." So the people give me nachos without meat and I think that they are the best nachos I will ever have. It's places like this that are in jeopardy right now and that make me really sad.
ReplyDeleteGentrification is a tough issue because there are not really any clear solutions. Truthfully, the only solution to gentrification is to earn more money, however this is often difficult for most people. Oftentimes, the people who suffer from gentrification are individuals who lack the marketable skills to be competitive in the region, i.e. education or ability.
ReplyDeleteAs a believer of the Laissez-Faire ideology, there really is no appropriate action the government can take. Gentrification is basically Darwinism. It is the survival of the fittest of a work market. Government action, such as increasing minimum wage, will only make the problem worse. Raising minimum wage will create inflation, causing prices to also increase. Other government action, such as setting a price-ceiling for rent, hurts private businesses and violates their freedom.
Gentrification will continue to be a problem during the next decade, and the best solution for those who suffer from gentrification is to emmigrate.
The whole concept of gentrification is extremely fascinating, and your view on it usually depends on your socioeconomic status. When you defined gentrification, I found it interesting that it focused on the renovation of style. However, when I think of gentrification, there is a much more vile connotation to it. I usually imagine lower class people being displaced from their homes, and being replaced by whiter, richer people. When traveling to New York, me and my family stayed in an apartment in the Brooklyn. Brooklyn is usally known for a strong African American Community. However, when we stayed there, you could see that it was transitioning to a "whiter" neighborhood. All the old cheaper houses were bing torn down for newer ones.
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