[homoe]

Originally Posted by cathexis

Let's tell folks what exactly gentrification means. Pls. correct me if I miss a point.

A venture capitalist, one who invests in the misfortunes of others, comes into a city, neighborhood, basically any area which has befallen economic hardship. Examples would include Gary/Hammond IN, parts of Pittsburgh and Akron and Cleveland. Detroit would fall in this category which these mega-rich investors come in, offering residents cents on the dollars to acquire these once proven profitable properties. The old neighborhoods were razed with new malls, apartment building which have rents unaffordable by residents, and other services and products out of the residents range.

These prior residents are displaced to more and more unsatisfactory housing. In addition, the items they were forced to leave behind, ancestral photographs, antiques, and glassware, sometimes worth hundreds of thousands dollars if they could have sold the items. They might not be stuck in this cycle of poverty.

I do say this has been one of the biggest contribution to the homelessness problem in American! I really don't want to get on a soapbox here BUT....I firmly believe that many palms have been greased for everything from re-zoning to god only knows what-else so these developers can swoop in, make millions, and then move on to bigger & even more profitable targets!