1. Agenda: 10/9 Announcements Quiz Research Topics? Wrapping Up Zukin Discussion “What’s Race Got to Do With It?” Reminders for Tuesday

2. Potential Research Topics: City/Neighborhood-Focused San Francisco New Orleans Portland Washington, D.C. Los Angeles Brooklyn Harlem Eugene St. Louis [Many More...]

3. Potential Research Topics: Gentrification Debates – Does displacement happen? – Is gentrification good for neighborhoods? – How do media images affect gentrification? Gentrification and Race/Ethnicity – Gentrification in Chinatown – Gentrification and Black History – Gentrification and Latin American Immigration – Gentrification and Indigenous People

4. Potential Research Topics: Issue Focused Gentrification and Food Gentrification and Bikes Gentrification and Sexuality Rural Gentrification Gentrification and Policing

5. Potential Research Topics: Focus on Cultural Artifact Novels – Hunting in Harlem – Mat Johnson – Fortress of Solitude or Chronic City – Jonathan Lethem – The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears – Dinaw Mengestu – Bodega Dreams – Ernesto Quinonez Films – Do the Right Thing or Red Hook Summer – Spike Lee

6. Key Terms Exchange Value: – The monetary value of a place – How much a building/plot of land would – How much rent the owner could charge Use Value: – “The many facets of worth of the neighborhood to the original residents” (Kirkland 19) – How the neighborhood fits into a person’s “daily round” – Emotional/Historical connections to neighborhood Social Capital: – How we benefit from relationships we build over time – “benefits derived from the preferential treatment and cooperation between individuals and groups” (Wikipedia)

7. Wrapping Up Zukin Discussion Which of the three theories we’ve discussed so far (about what causes gentrification) seems most persuasive to you? How has race been discussed in the two essays we’ve read so far? What role do you think race plays in gentrification?

8. The Problem as Kirkland sees it... In popular conceptualization, gentrification is often a fundamentally racial transformation: the pre-gentrified neighborhood is inhabited mostly by African Americans or other people of color, and the in-movers are typically white. Many academic depictions of gentrification, on the other hand, either omit reference to the racial dimensions of the phenomenon, or acknowledge race and ethnicity but forego examination. (18)

9. Elizabeth Kirkland: Minute Around Say anything you like about Kirkland’s essay. Take between 30 seconds and a minute.

10. Race and Gentrification First, what is race? – Races refer to “social groups, not genetically distinct branches of humankind“ (Haney Lopez, Social Construction of Race) – Kwame Appiah: “Races are like witches: however unreal witches are, belief in witches, like belief in races, has had—and in many places continues to have—profound consequences for human social life” What is racism? – Belief that different races have essential differences (and that some are better than others) – Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s theory of “colorblind racism”: the belief that discrimination is no longer a determining factor in the life chances of people of color (1) Why Is race is excluded from gentrification scholarship?

11. 1. Lack of Historical Context “The contemporary system of racial residential segregation, building upon the historic residential color line established over the first several decades of the twentieth century, consists of a multitude of components of discrimination and exclusion” (28)

12. 2. Exclusive Focus on Issues of “Class” “In the course of scholarly investigation of this phenomenon, the definition has been refined in numerous ways, all of which incorporate an essential nod to gentrification's inherent class transformation.”

13. 3. Colorblindness/Avoidance “As for the absence of race as a variable in gentrification analyses, this is consistent with the general tendency for the avoidance of racial discourse, the denial of the magnitude of racism, and the evasion of the topic of racial impacts, disparities, and divisions” (29)

14. 4. Problems with Methodology “Qualitative investigation, on top of whatever quantitative assessment can be done, is crucial for an understanding of the consequences of gentrification to original residents, which in turn means it is crucial to our analysis of the racial impacts and implications of gentrification.” (22)

15. Final Questions Why is race so closely tied to gentrification in the popular imagination? What are some other connections between race and gentrification? On Tuesday, we’ll talk about strategies for responding to gentrification. How do race and ethnicity factor into potential solutions to gentrification?

16. For Tuesday Read “The Right to Stay Put” – Don’t read “The Right to Stay Put, Revisited” (unless you really want to) Before class, post a response to this question: – In class, we’ve talked about some of the negative consequences of gentrification (like displacement), as well as some of its potential benefits to neighborhoods. What do you think we can or should do about gentrification? Give reasons to justify your strategy for responding to gentrification. – Your response should be about a page long (between 250 and 500 words). The post will be counted as a quiz. – See Grading Rubric on the Blog