Definition Urban Gentrification - Term Paper Example

Urban gentrification Gentrification is a process that has been marred by a lot of controversy. It is a process through which urban developers transform low income neighborhoods and ghettos surrounding urban dwellings into more affluent upscale communities. This results in the eviction of the poor from their affordable aboard as these urban developers target wealthier tenants. These renovation results into production of homes that is characterized by loft apartments and condominiums which the poor cannot afford. Given the fact that most of the original tenants of these low income dwelling cannot afford to live pay for the new houses, they are forced to move into more lower social dwellings that are ridden by all sort of social vices that range from murder, robbery to drug dealings. The move to upgrade these low class social dwellings not only affects the tenants but all the other businesses that served them. These are forced to either sell out to richer companies that can serve the new wealthier tenants or to completely close down. Even though the idea of gentrification or urban renewal might have some good for the development of urban dwellings, it comes with its pitfalls which include the escalation of crime in these areas. As individuals are forced in more populated environments and residents, the urge to get involved in social vices overrides that of earning a living in a legally recognized manner. Most of these neighborhoods that these individuals are forced to move are usually short of the required social amenities and are usually characterized in the breakdown of leadership and policing systems that results in the escalating of crime. The concept of urban renewal has it roots in the 50s when many city planners decided to implement policies on urban planning that would see the elimination of the ghettos and other low class social dwellings from their cities. Back in the 60s, a British sociologist identified the gentrification and the short comes that comes with initiatives for urban renewal. He cited that urban renewal only benefited the landlords and private developers. The frustration that follows on the eviction of the established tenants usually results in confrontation between new tenants and the old tenants who see the new ones as the root to all their problems. With the marginalization and surveillance of these social groups a feeling of neglect by the central government results in a wave of crime against the wealthier tenants. The ghettos have been greatly marginalized and this has lead to changes over the years on how they are put under surveillance. With the wealthier population considering the people in the ghettos as potential criminals, many cities have increased the surveillance of most urban dwelling located next to ghettos or areas of relative low class dwellings. The negative perception that exists on ghettos with respect to crime has thus influenced the interaction of these dwellings with law enforcing officers. The methods of surveillance in these low class residences have been a little different from the ones that are conventionally used in other places. This has witnessed intense surveillance and policing measures that have included use of low flying helicopters, 24 hours police ground patrols. This has led to restrictions and curfews on residents on the ghettos. The fact that heavy police presence around ghettos has aggravated the already soar relations between ghetto dwellers and the more affluent tenants. Unlike many areas that are inhabited by relatively affluent parts of cities, the marginalized ghettos have attracted surveillance methods that aim at protecting the rich. The cold war that goes on in the streets is basically about the resentment that the ghettos dwellers have for the affluent tenants who they feel have taken their houses and businesses. This silent war has led to a dire situation where the wealthy are literally scared of the ghetto dwellers who will not hesitate to harm them if they had the opportunity to do so These resentments have led to complete segregation of these two sets of population. The rich are unable to go ghettos out of fear of being harmed while the ghetto dwellers who feel they have been marginalized cannot go into rich neighborhoods out of fear of arrests by law enforcing officers who have been placed strategically in these locations to prevent such dwellers from harming the rich. This kind of situation has resulted in a society that is divided across social class levels. The police find it very risky to physically patrol the ghetto streets and have thus implemented other measures that will allow them monitor these societies without actually putting them into high criminal activities risks. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance in these regions of cities has led to a lot of resentment to law enforcing officers. It is one of measure that has been used to monitor criminal activities and gangs in the ghettos. The cameras have been installed in virtually all corners of streets in the ghettos. This has led to sophistication of gang criminal activities with many secret societies being formed with operations that are marred in great secrecy. Despite the reduction in the number of police officers that have to actually be present in the ghettos at any given moment and crimes, CCTVs have further increased the resentment to police and the rich in the ghettos. Low flying helicopters in the ghettos normally referred to as “ghetto birds” have also been used to monitor criminal activities in the ghettos mostly at night. Despite their success in averting crime in the ghettos, these methods have always lead to complaints over the noise levels associated with it. The level of noise would not normally be accepted in more affluent societies. Policing and the police Policing is an activity that involves the regulation and control of social conflicts which will always lead to adversarial contacts with at least some members of the community. As is the case of with any society policing cannot be universally approved by all members of the community. The problem usually comes when there is a difference or a bias in the policing measures that are in place for the poor and the rich. In most developed and developing countries there is always a bias in policing with a considerable bias to the rich. Most of the surveys that have been recently carried out on the probability of a community to be hit by criminals have always pointed out that the marginalized are highly likely to be hit than any other group of people. These studies further shows that the ethnic minority who have been gentrified or marginalized are even more likely to be attacked by criminals. This has been explained by the fact that most of these group of people are at the bottom of the social ladder and are likely to be living in these crime ridden areas. These usually results to the need to have more police control and surveillance in these regions with the aim of containing the crime against the marginalized. This rarely happens since most patrols and surveillance is aimed at preventing attacks on the wealthy and not the marginalized. Despite all these risks that they face, the marginalized rarely get to have the same policing measures in place as those of the rich. It can therefore be concluded that the actions of the police is always a clear indication of the attitude or policies that the central government has for the marginalized. This will be manifested by the kind of surveillance and handling that the marginalized or gentrified individuals get from the police. The police are capable of lowering the approval levels of the government by the people. By implementing harsh surveillance and policing protocols, governments are directly responsible for the creation of streets wars that usually culminate in increased crime in both the ghettos and the rich neighborhoods. By allowing the police to handle the marginalized in unethical or depressing manner, the central government will directly assist in escalating street wars. With marginalization or rather gentrification, most authorities employ heavy monitoring, surveillance and police control measure that makes the marginalized communities lose their sense of belonging and acquire the constant urge to rebel against the central government. They thus resent the rich and will not hesitate to attack the rich since they view them as a representation of the central government that oppresses them. Just like any other animal, humans will react negatively to constant surveillance or control and this will more than often take the form of rebellion to all government policies by the constantly surveyed marginalized communities. As the marginalized attack the rich, the rich who without obviously have great influence in the central government will always facilitate the implementation of policies that they think will contain the criminal activities of the marginalized. These usually results to implementation of curfews, heavy police patrols and presence in marginalized communities and police brutality to suspects sometimes. The marginalized on the other hand take this as direct insults or oppression by the central government and react by forming more sophisticated street gangs that will indiscriminately kill any police officer or wealthy individual. The authority’s interventions have thus been aggravating an already dire situation. Surveillance and police control go hand in hand and will therefore always shape the modern cities. The oppression of the marginalized by the police has thus resulted to the creation of zones within the cities that only a given social class of people can inhabit at a given time and that a rival group cannot even think of venturing into. The modern cities have thus been characterized by segregation of the population into social classes with respected to dwellings. These social classes have one thing in common, intolerance to other social groups that they do not belong to. These have consequently led to racial motivated killings since most of these social classes are divided along racial lines too. The killings are not usually directed at individuals but to a given ethnic group or race where each group takes pride in killing or attacking a member of a rival group. These usually results in a series of revenge attacks that most law enforcement officers cannot understand or solve. With respect to the bias in police control, the police have always failed in the manner in which they treat racial motivated criminal attacks. Most of the marginalized populations have a general perception that they have been under protected by the law enforcement officers and will therefore take the laws in the hands to defend themselves. The modern cities have thus been shaped by how the law enforcement agencies handle surveillance and policing. References John Stone, Phil(1985) Racial conflict in contemporary society‎ New York: McGraw Hill Press. Read More