The Central District...Gone - North Portland...Gone (Gentrification Quantified)

[xpanther206]

A lot of folks on here, esp. folks like Nonstop & Young E.A.S.T. (that's a very cool sig you've got there with the C.A.Y.A.), talk about this gentrification problem in the NW. It's going on everywhere but it's particularly bad up here. I've been doing some research lately involving income and race for all the Metro Areas of the United States. I will say this, the national average in ratio between black income and white income is 0.66 (meaning blacks make 66% as much as whites). In the Northwest, the numbers are actually slightly better than average (Seattle at 69%, Portland at 66%). Most midwestern cities, for example, are somewhere between 0.50 and 0.60 (Milwaukee, Buffalo and Minneapolis are the worst at 0.50).

But when it comes to gentrification, we don't have it so good. I collected Census Tract level data for the Central District and North-Northeast Portland to see what these same ratios were. For the CD, Census tract 89 (the heart of the neighborhood, south of Union, East of 23rd, West of MLK, north of Jackson), the ratio was an alarmingly low 0.43 (blacks make 43% as much as whites). For North Portland, Census tract 23.01 (south of Killingsworth, east of Albina, north of Fremont, west of 8th) the ratio was 0.54.

Both of these values well below the national average of 0.66 is not good news for black people in these cities who want to see these areas stay predominantly black. In a word, they won't, because the black populations in these particular neighborhoods don't have the economic might to keep it that way.

If you all want the damn soundtrack for this idea, here is "Real Estate" by the CD's own Central Intelligence:

"Real Estate" by C.I. (ViaYouSendIt)

 

[Nonstop]

thats crazy.. i love statman sometimes.. cause i can always point to his research in debates...lol...


ive been talkin to people from differnt cities, and they say its goin on there too, now its to the point to where some more strong black leaders have to step up and help put our collective feet down

 

[BaneTheTerrible]

I hear what you are saying but really, If this was about white people pooling their money to buy property to keep it "white owned" then it would be a whole big deal.

If a person of any color wants to buy property then they need to get educated and do so. This race shit is extremely irritating. With all the grants and education and so on out there these days there is no reason that with a little effort people of any race at any income level can change their lifes.

 

[xpanther206]

ive been talkin to people from differnt cities, and they say its goin on there too, now its to the point to where some more strong black leaders have to step up and help put our collective feet down

Yeah I love doing this kind of stuff. What I am officially is a Geography & Urban Studies double major. Hopefully I can do stuff like this for a living. I'll get some nice polarization maps done and post them up here this spring. I'm graduating from college in May, hopefully I can do this for a living some day.

But as to your comment, unfortunately I don't think it's possible. We are not a communist country, the money dictates everything, it's what makes us tick. The future of black America definitely includes the traditional inner-city neighborhoods and the culture they created, but it ALSO includes a new rise of blue-collar/black interior suburbs (depending on the part of the country, the Northwest is a ways away from any truly "black suburbs").

Compton is such an example. Others are the south suburbs of Chicago (where Dwayne Wade is from, Harvey IL is a good example), which have become predominantly black largely as a result of gentrification in the city of Chicago. Atlanta has a belt of predominantly black suburbs. Chester PA is a predominantly black suburb of Philly. Etc etc. There will be an increase in suburbanization but not necessarily the benefits that come with this traditionally. The best Northwest example I can think of is Renton.

The economic realities won't change (i.e. the white-black income gap), but the geography of it will change. Those are essentially givens. The question is, will this beautiful inner-city black culture (one of the byproducts of this culture is the reason we are all on this message board posting shit) will persist?

 

[Dirty Shoez]

I hear what you are saying but really, If this was about white people pooling their money to buy property to keep it "white owned" then it would be a whole big deal.

If a person of any color wants to buy property then they need to get educated and do so. This race shit is extremely irritating. With all the grants and education and so on out there these days there is no reason that with a little effort people of any race at any income level can change their lifes.

This is true. Latinos and Asians are doing a SPECTACULAR job of assimilating and moving up, without us needing to be able to identify X amount of Latino and Asian "Leaders".

Black people need to wake up, and start doing things INDIVIDUALLY, and hoping other people follow suit. Not expecting people do things COLLECTIVELY, and then when they find out the support is not initially there, doing nothing at all.

Stand up or fall back. Simply selling millions of records, then coming back to the Hood and handing out turkeys and 3-4 scholarships a year is not enough. The whole infrastructure needs to be created and solidified, or Gentrification will continue.

 

[Nonstop]

but grants are generaly limited to those who have no record...

im not trying to make excuses, but when you grow up poor, you have to find a way to fit into the expensive lifestyle which is glamorized in everything we see/hear. mc donalds, wal mart, and ups checks dont cutt it, so you usually see people turning to faster paced occupations, i.e drugs and pimpin/hoen... and all that lifestyle brings is more crime, and jail time.. once you get that record, it takes a WHOLE lot to get it over looked.. im goin thru it as we speak..

and it really isnt as easy as it may seem from the outside, to get helped as a black person, with grants and property... prejudging and profiling occur more then most can imagine, and your own herritage/economic class can be your down fall... i mean, why give this building to a budding black entrepenuer (sp) with a poor upbringing when you can give it to this lil yuppie mufucka wit family to call on when the lease cant be paid??

 

[mrskrilla]

This is true. Latinos and Asians are doing a SPECTACULAR job of assimilating and moving up, without us needing to be able to identify X amount of Latino and Asian "Leaders".

Black people need to wake up, and start doing things INDIVIDUALLY, and hoping other people follow suit. Not expecting people do things COLLECTIVELY, and then when they find out the support is not initially there, doing nothing at all.

Stand up or fall back. Simply selling millions of records, then coming back to the Hood and handing out turkeys and 3-4 scholarships a year is not enough. The whole infrastructure needs to be created and solidified, or Gentrification will continue.

That's real. You gotta make moves for the long-term before making them for the short-term.

 

[xpanther206]

1) This is about real estate not politics. This is not a how hard/how easy to black people have it thing.

2) I do happen to agree with everything everybody's said, I don't see a lot of disagreement, only to which degree everybody is right.

 

[Trixsta]

lol why does everybody gotta point out what color does what? rich is rich and poor is poor if you're white, black, yellow, brown or purple.

 

[xpanther206]

lol why does everybody gotta point out what color does what? rich is rich and poor is poor if you're white, black, yellow, brown or purple.

B/C in urban areas the two are synonomous for the most part.

Go to the Central District and ask them why they're neighborhood is changing so rapidly for the worse (in their views), they will not say "because rich people are moving in and forcing out long-time residents" they will say "because white people are moving in and forcing out long-time residents."

The ignore race in favor of class game doesn't work.

 

[Trixsta]

montana has the lowest income per family of any state and its mostly whites and natives....try telling all the white people here that're making/selling meth to pay taxes which in turn gets given to the natives that...not tryin to pick a fight here either mane im jus puttin in my 2 cents bout color doesnt always make a difference even though i do realize that in areas with concetrated numbers of blacks and latinos usually are poorer but not always the case where do you think white trash comes from lmao

 

[Dirty Shoez]

...Wait, did you just say "THAT'RE"? I'll be fucking damned if that wasn't incredible. I salute you for that one.

 

[Ez-Roo]

I heard what they did in cincinatti is put up flyers and held meetings to fuck the neghborhood up they send the youth out in flocks to breaks windows and spray paint everything to the point of whites not wanting to have to deal with it. central niggas could of done that itas not to late for the south end. once its a black community again repaint and rebuild! but keep your fuckin roots its never to late though!

 

[Nonstop]

^lol.... sounds familiar.... but it aint workin out here in po

 

[Ez-Roo]

why not? if cats put there heart in it they could take the central back even now. but there is no organized effort

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

This is true. Latinos and Asians are doing a SPECTACULAR job of assimilating and moving up, without us needing to be able to identify X amount of Latino and Asian "Leaders".

Black people need to wake up, and start doing things INDIVIDUALLY, and hoping other people follow suit. Not expecting people do things COLLECTIVELY, and then when they find out the support is not initially there, doing nothing at all.

Stand up or fall back. Simply selling millions of records, then coming back to the Hood and handing out turkeys and 3-4 scholarships a year is not enough. The whole infrastructure needs to be created and solidified, or Gentrification will continue.

Wow...I actually AGREE with you....

 

[Nonstop]

shit, ezroo i dont know about the cd, but in p.o they aint do nuthin but form alliances and organizations, like "east unthank block watch" and "boise takeback" which made it that much more difficult out here.

i say fuck it now, imma just hustle any way i can to get money for real estate and buy shit back.. fuck it

 

[Premo]

good shet central intelligence is filthy

 

[Young E.A.S.T]

Being from the CD and living there my whole life......(25th and Dearborn).......Its crazy to come back from school and see how much the hood done changed, I mean we as black people I feel have to collectively bring what we can bring to the coffe table and chop it up on some regain the CD shit.........Easier said then done, i'm in the process of getting my real estate liscense so, i'm a try my part......but the CD will forever be the CD, the same mo'fuckas that be posted on Deuce 8.....5,6,7 years ago is still there its just that they don't reside there anymore.......But talking to the older heads they informed me that this gentrification isn't something new and was tried years ago.....But I still plan to give forth an effort to bring the "BLACK DOLLA" back to the community.........100

 

[xpanther206]

Thanks for responding Young E.A.S.T. & Ez-Roo, you guys were the only people I was really watching out for a specific response b/c I know you guys actually are from the neighborhood.

^^
Try telling these guys some race doesn't matter shit. It doesn't when they either make the same amount of money or live in separate places. In the CD, they live in the same place, and have almost $40,000 separating them. Tell me that doesn't matter please.

I hope you guys can reclaim it, I don't think the crime thing would work b/c I don't think the white folks would be scared at all by property crime because they can just protect themselves with fences and security and all that shit. It'd have to be some drastic violent stuff to have an impact. I see white women walking there dogs out there all the time now. They ain't scared.

The CD is simply gone, my numbers confirmed what I long suspected from observation and conversation. People get ready for South King County / South Seattle to be the epicenter of the Seattle rap scene within 10 years. Get ready for Franklin to simply take over the basketball rivalry with Garfield (hell Garfield's black enrollment is down to 29% now, it is the 2nd wealthiest school in the district). Get ready for a lot of the cultural orgs to move south, as many already have.

The CD is gone...