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Gentrification seems to be something of a controversial issue these days. On balance, do you think that gentrification is a good thing or a bad thing?
Gentrification seems to be something of a controversial issue these days. On balance, do you think that gentrification is a good thing or a bad thing?
What's the argument against it, exactly? The examples of gentrification I've personally witnessed have seen horrible, crime-ridden neighborhoods transformed into safe, habitable ones.
Gentrification seems to be something of a controversial issue these days. On balance, do you think that gentrification is a good thing or a bad thing?
I agree. However, the argument against it is that it prices the poor and middle class out of urban working class neighborhoods.
Again, what I've seen deals specifically with neighborhoods that are the equivalent of demilitarized zones, although in all fairness there is another aspect to it:
1. Awful, crime-ridden neighborhood, cop cars and police helicopters are a common feature of the area
2. Artists move in for that cheap, large studio space.
3. In time, artists make the location hip.
4. Nicer restaurants and stores move in to cater to that crowd.
5. Rich investors, now attracted to the area, build expensive apartment complexes, stores, boutiques.
6. Artists are driven out and the cycle continues.
Gentrification seems to be something of a controversial issue these days. On balance, do you think that gentrification is a good thing or a bad thing?
6. Artists are driven out and the cycle continues.
I agree. However, the argument against it is that it prices the poor and middle class out of urban working class neighborhoods.
Gran who's owned the home since 1964, suddenly sees her home's property value triple because of its location and suddenly she's looking at paying double the property taxes on a limited income.Excellent thing. Sooner-the-better.
That is generally how it goes. I still think its a net positive overall.
Gran who's owned the home since 1964, suddenly sees her home's property value triple because of its location and suddenly she's looking at paying double the property taxes on a limited income.
Eventually forcing her to lose her home.
Gran who's owned the home since 1964, suddenly sees her home's property value triple because of its location and suddenly she's looking at paying double the property taxes on a limited income.
Eventually forcing her to lose her home.
Right, that's the problem with it. Then again, that is why I have always preferred income taxes to sales and property taxes. If a state gets its revenue from income taxes, then Grandma pays taxes while she is working, then when she is on a limited income and of limited means, she doesn't have to pay much in taxes. Property taxes work the exact opposite way.
Then again, if Grandma's house increases a lot in value due to gentrification of where she lives, she can always sell it and use the money to move to Florida.
Yeah, that's not going to change in our lifetime - our education system is built on property taxes. Changing that would be changing our country's budgetary operations on every level, and would require moving a political mountain with a bulldozer.Right, that's the problem with it. Then again, that is why I have always preferred income taxes to sales and property taxes. If a state gets its revenue from income taxes, then Grandma pays taxes while she is working, then when she is on a limited income and of limited means, she doesn't have to pay much in taxes. Property taxes work the exact opposite way.
Then again, if Grandma's house increases a lot in value due to gentrification of where she lives, she can always sell it and use the money to move to Florida.
Cities Mobilize to Help Those Threatened by Gentrification
The initiatives, planned or underway in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh and other cities, are centered on reducing or freezing property taxes for such homeowners in an effort to promote neighborhood stability, preserve character and provide a dividend of sorts to those who have stayed through years of high crime, population loss and declining property values, officials say.
...
Jacy Webster applied for a cap on his property taxes after the value of his home in Philadelphia quintupled amid a flurry of new construction.
Rene Goodwin, seen here, saw the value of her home rise to $281,000 from $90,000 in a single year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/us/cities-helping-residents-resist-the-new-gentry.html
Yeah, that's not going to change in our lifetime - our education system is built on property taxes. Changing that would be changing our country's budgetary operations on every level, and would require moving a political mountain with a bulldozer.
But yes, that's the issue. Longtime homeowners have been in these neighborhoods for their entire lives. Their community is there, they may own a business there or want their kids to go to a certain school. It's their home. Then suddenly it's the "hip" new place and they see their cost of living hit the ceiling and they suddenly can't live in their home anymore. EG,
Excellent thing. Sooner-the-better.
We see some of this in Houston, but the elderly stay, property taxes are frozen
at age 65, and I don't remember the county forcing any senior out of their house for,
for non payment, (they just put a lean on the property, and collect from their estate)
The below 65 poor, do have a problem, as they can no longer afford ether the taxes or the rent.
We see some of this in Houston, but the elderly stay, property taxes are frozen
at age 65, and I don't remember the county forcing any senior out of their house for,
for non payment, (they just put a lean on the property, and collect from their estate)
The below 65 poor, do have a problem, as they can no longer afford ether the taxes or the rent.
Gentrification seems to be something of a controversial issue these days. On balance, do you think that gentrification is a good thing or a bad thing?
But if the neighborhood is simply poor, and isn't necessarily marked by boarded up windows and crack houses, then it's kind of sad for those people to be pushed out for the crime of not being rich.
More often than not, this is what happens. It would be much better if neighborhoods could be built up without making them too expensive to remain in. Personally, I'd like my neighborhood to take its time gentrifying. The rents are getting a little high.
Gentrification seems to be something of a controversial issue these days. On balance, do you think that gentrification is a good thing or a bad thing?