Here’s the thing - I’ve come to learn that there will always be a segment of our society that absolutely refuses to fend for itself. Why cater to that segment?
I work in land development, and one day I was at a planning commission meeting to pitch a new development. A developer had bought up abandoned industrial property near the RR tracks, and was proposing a gated, maintenance free community. The common theme of the protesting neighbors: “Our taxes will go up”. It was unbelievable - they would rather live in crime and decay, than stay and pay more taxes...or pick door #3 and sell out for a profit, if they couldn’t afford the taxes.
And, they had an expectation that the abandoned property near them be permanently vacant, producing practically zero tax revenue, and serving essentially as a playground for crime and underground activity. IOW, their personal desire to wallow in squalor trumped the needs of the community.
I think its an absurd attitude.
Yes, I know the rents go up. But as the area gets ‘trendy’, aren’t there new restaurants opening up with job potential? And, they don’t just double the rent on a crappy apartment without improving it, do they? There may be some painting, carpet laying, sheet rock hanging, etc. type jobs to be had. IOW, as the rents go up, the local job outlook also changes...for the willing. Sure the unwilling will have to move, but in aggregate, the gentrified neighborhood will have increased the net opportunities in the area, and should by some small percentage reduce the total poverty in the area.
“Why cater to that segment?”
Well, you don’t have to cater to them, but you shouldn’t be surprised if they want to preserve their way of life and resist someone coming in and imposing that change on them.
“Yes, I know the rents go up. But as the area gets ‘trendy’, aren’t there new restaurants opening up with job potential?”
Restaurants, and even retail stores offer only a few jobs, with little earning potential, while gentrification raises the expenses for everyone in the neighborhood. So, it’s not exactly an equal offset.
“And, they don’t just double the rent on a crappy apartment without improving it, do they?”
Not necessarily double, but yes, even an unimproved apartment will see a larger raise in rent than usual, because the prices are based on what the market will bear. Smart landlords will remodel as well, to maximize what they can squeeze out of the market, but even the ones that do no improvements will charge whatever they can, since they are going to have to pay the higher taxes as well.
“There may be some painting, carpet laying, sheet rock hanging, etc. type jobs to be had.”
Most landlords already have dedicated contractors to do that stuff, but they might have to hire a few more for big jobs. Still, the same applies to the idea about restaurants, there will be a few more jobs that will help a few people, while the entire neighborhood must bear a higher expense. These are residential neighborhoods, and the majority of people living in those neighborhoods will never work within the boundaries of the neighborhood. It’s just not where most of the jobs are located.