1. After seeing all the neighborhoods, I feel like Holly Street will effect old residents the most by pushing property taxes up with new homes and ugly ones and pushing them out. This will have a long term effect on the community at hand and these poor people will have no where to go; the negative side to gentrification. However, the community of Mueller will last long because i feel that it attracts more new adults and young families and retired people because it is seen as an up and coming area of Austin, therefore those families will stay longer and more will move there. This will add to the community to the point where they probably will be able to have their own elementary and middle school and close off their Step ford borders.
2. I feel like this article on the gentrification in South Africa shows only the the positive side to gentrification but I think gentrification in that area of the world is better bc you can kinda only go up from where they are economically so its no surprise that crime has gone down while jobs have been created. Similarly in the US this occurs but it has negative effects more because these citizens have more to lose in the sense that the US is the best place to go and they can only go down from their rather than up like those of South Africa. South Africa is seeking to become more like America not in a positive way.
3. After reviewing the articles, I feel like we should be unlocking more at this school because we have the man power for it. There are so many students interested in social work and community projects, writing grants and helping. As an idea for helping Holly Street, since they are ambivalent to our efforts and don't want us in the community maybe we can focus on ourselves for a while; focus on rallying behind this cause. Do more research, poll citizens more, make them more open to us, maybe as an opening gesture, try to write a grant for this community or like the people in the last article get someone powerful behind it like the president of the university. This could be just what we need to show the community we really care, have their interest at heart and take this seriously.
I think that the gentrification in Africa is worse due to the severity. If you are a child wondering the streets with no guardian with an infection on your face in the US someone will do something. But that little boy from the article will probably not be sent to the hospital or be picked up by CPS. Yes Americans have more to lose but because they have more to begin with and have more resources in general to provide help. But I agree with your post and your last statement that we need to show them we care especially when it is so easy and by looks of it that we don't.
ReplyDeleteI think you make some great observations. The UT community has a great opportunity to impact these neighborhoods. Yes, we do have the manpower. I hope through classes like ours, PROJECT, and the Center for Civic Engagement, we will begin to see more involvement of faculty and students.
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