I want to put up flyers in my neighborhood about how to NOT be a horrible gentrifier. So far I’m thinking:
1) Don’t kid yourselves, all gentrifiers are horrible. We already suck because we are taking up space that belongs to a community that is not our own.
2) FYI, not all gentrifiers are white and upper-class. Many move into these neighborhoods as students, or as newly employed folks. Some are just temporarily visiting. Either way, if you’re displacing a community that is not your own by living here, you are probably a gentrifier.
3) If you can afford to live elsewhere, do it. The deal you get by living here would better serve someone who’s already within the community.
4) But if you can’t, then BE RESPECTFUL. Get to know your neighbors, be wary of the age groups in your building, take care of your noise levels and clean up after yourself. Maybe do them a favor once in a while.
5) To follow #4: If you’re gonna go outside and smoke, take an ashtray with you, and for chrisssakes, keep your noise down if you go out late at night. People are sleeping.
6) Stop complaining about how rude everyone in your neighborhood is to you. Chances are they know exactly what your presence means for their neighborhood, and their ability to even stay in that neighborhood. YOU need to do the work, not the people whose neighborhood you’re invading. Which brings me to my next point:
7) Support local businesses. Quit whining about the lack of a Whole Foods in your neighborhood. One of the worst aspects of gentrification is the introduction of corporations into the neighborhood. With that comes the mass displacement of a community. Prices of food and rent go up, and entire families would have to move further away from the city than they already are.
8) (from my buddy Ariel)Don’t buy into landlord’s speculative and inflated rents— find the cheapest possible place or you are enabling said inflation.
9) (from cobra-snake, which is my fave) STOP BEING A FUCKING ASSHOLE
Would anyone like to add some more?
(Source: brujacore)
