The Other Side

Sabriyya and Nate led an outstanding group reflection session last Thursday. Primarily focused on our privileged position in South Africa as American students from Duke University who live on a comfortable stipend, they fostered a deep discussion about issues such as class, race, and gentrification. Through the hour and a half chat, we grappled with a situation that has become banal in cities around the world: low-income families and minorities are being forced out of their homes, as city governments seek to fill their metropolises with trendy shops, fancy restaurants, chic apartments, and anything else middle class and wealthy people could desire. Their object is to make their city an attraction, so that people will come, spend their money, and build up the local economy. One need not look far beyond newspaper or magazine articles that commend the “Top Cities for Families,” “Healthiest Cities in America,” or “Best Cities to Travel in 2016” to see the effects of gentrification. But, all these awards and lists leads one to question, who is really benefiting from this type of economic resurgence?

One of my favorite things to do on a summer’s day is to go downtown Minneapolis to the renovated Warehouse District to catch a Twins game at Target Field. The area that used to be a “rough” part of the city, marked by strip clubs, warehouses, and crime has been transformed into a Minnesota entertainment mecca: with the ballpark came stylish apartments, upscale restaurants, microbreweries, and an extension of the Twin Cities’ light rail system. Granted, baseball has brought in new jobs and a sense of safety to the neighborhood, but in the process, it forced out people who couldn’t afford to live near the state-of-the-art stadium. As 30,000 Twins fans and I enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of outdoor baseball, those displaced by the project struggle to support their families, having to sacrifice time at home to instead commute to a low-paying job, perhaps to work for Delaware North, the concession company contracted by the Twins. This trend is by no means limited to Minneapolis, Minnesota and its Major League Baseball franchise: Washington, DC, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, LA, Portland, Oregon, and many more cities have become increasingly economically exclusive, as rental and property costs have skyrocketed.

Yesterday morning, I decided to run to the Sea Point suburb of Cape Town. My awareness of gentrification increased, I picked up on slight subtleties I may not have noticed in the past. Here was a place that was obviously built up to attract fans for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. French, Italian, German, American, Irish, and Portuguese restaurants lined the main road, opposite the gleaming soccer stadium, which happens to be surrounded by a members-only golf club. Parks stand between the street and the ocean, with beautiful hotels and condos facing the sea from across the street. Comfortably dressed families walked the Sea Promenade path, as runners like me, clad in dri-fit workout clothes and running shoes, soaked up the sun while striding down the street. Unlike the city center, there were no beggars or homeless people. Unlike the township of Parkwood, there was a nice public restroom facility with running water. In this seaside strip, poverty was eliminated and the bottom class did not exist.

So, the question remains, is gentrification worth it? I mean, from the outside, the Warehouse District of Minneapolis, Georgetown in Washington, DC, and Sea Point in Cape Town all appear to be prosperous neighborhoods that provide jobs, benefits, and services to their residents, while having a positive economic impact on each city. Yet, behind the facade lies a darker reality, one similar to that of District Six, the former Cape Town neighborhood that is the focus of the museum I’ve been interning at the past month.

District Six was once an economically prosperous and diverse neighborhood, situated near the heart of Cape Town. The multi-ethnic and multi-religious community showcased a model of diversity and tolerance-a model that threatened the apartheid government’s propaganda and policy of “good neighborliness” so much so that residents were ordered to leave their homes, mixed race families were separated, and people were forced to live in townships based on the color of their skin. What was once a beacon of hope for the anti-apartheid struggle was leveled into a vast field; it was as if the neighborhood had never existed. Established in 1994, the District Six Museum seeks to not only preserve the stories of former residents, but is also engaged in a campaign to have District Six declared a National Heritage Site, so that people may never forget the atrocity committed by an intolerant and fearful government. Yet, the campaign has been met with backlash by those who seek to gentrify the area by filling it with trendy shops and weekend markets. Visitors to the museum have signed a petition on suitcase tags with the hopes of rallying public action; however, it is uncertain if the campaign will result in any action from a government that values profit above the person.

What is the alternative, one might ask, to the current system of city development via gentrification? How can cities attract visitors and investors AND allow their current residents to prosper, without forcing out the bottom class and without causing a spike in homelessness? I don’t have a clear-cut answer, yet I think the solution lies in valuing people over profit. What if city governments reached out to the working class and homeless populations and sought to improve their lives before seeking outside investors who will only compound current problems? Certainly by improving standards of living for the poor, new businesses could pop-up, ones that could showcase local talent and diversity, attract tourists, contribute to the local economy, and keep the cost of living affordable. I know it isn’t the most attractive option, but if cities implement a strategy like this, we can begin to take a stand against the growing rate of inequality around the world, one person at a time.

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