My dilemma…being part and parcel of gentrifying a neighborhood or allowing an economic turn take place and improve my personal life. Why can’t we do both?
Without going into any great detail-right now-I grew up in a neighborhood that got gentryfied later as I grew up. I have seen the good and the bad of the issue.
I like small craft breweries, coffee houses and small eclectic shops. I like small businesses and I like everyone being on the same page as to what kind of community we want to live in. But I also work for a large corporation. I love that we can offer employment opportunities and a greater variety of products and services.
And I lived in a neighborhood that offered a variety of businesses.
It was called Mt. Airy. And though we didn’t have craft beer and wi-fi we did have local bars that served local beer and where you could find small thriving businesses and still have access to Sears and K-Marts.
Here you could find poor welfare blacks, middle-class blacks, irish catholics, italaian-americans, college professors and musicians.
We all had access to had access to nice shops, art galleries and restaurants.
And a good education.
So why can’t we do this nowadays? Here is North Philadelphia.
My family has owned property in the Harrowgate and Fishtown area for nearly a century.
I would like to see to see an economically and culturally diverse community thrive in this area.
When I think that the city uses tax abatement and voting district manipulations to push out poor or disenfranchised voters, it get me a little fired up.
How about we take opportunities to build a more secure financial future for all of us.
Any ideas?