Neighborhoods Visits

1) Unfortunately due to other commitments, the Project group was only able to Holly St. and part of Marlo Heights. Of what I saw, there were lots of similarities between the two places. Both places had lots of very new and stylish apartment complexes popping up, especially Marlo Heights. Holly St. also had alot of new and big houses. These complexes and houses were most of the time intermixed with the original houses that looked like they were older and more worn down. These complexes will most likely hurt the original residents by increasing property value to unaffordable prices and will force them to move. If they are only renting their place, it may mean that the property owner will evict them so he can sell the property to the developers who will then destroy the house to make way for a new complex.

One way I did see they were different is in the commercial zone. Holly St seemed to have alot more commerce especially along 7th and Cesar Chavez. There were an increasing amount of fancier restaurants that would not be able to be afforded by local residents. If this number increases then the residents wont be able to buy food in their own neighborhood and would have to go somewhere else to buy their food. In Marlo Heights it seemed to be more residential and the few business that I saw seemed to stay the same as before.

2) As always the physical aspects of gentrification is the same in both South African and US. An older neighborhood is being renovated and the original, poor residents are being pushed out by the rich. Just as you see in US the whole neighborhood is still in the process of renovation so its salt and peppered with new and old houses.

There are a few differences however. For example, in South Africa it seems they have a more positive view on gentrification. They see it as an opportunity to better their neighborhood and make it safer. For example, both the liquor store owner and the security guard hope that the nearby houses are bought by developers so that they can renovate it and make it nice and safe. It also seems that the residents hope the neighborhood can be renovated so that their basic needs can be met.
Also in South Africa it seems that gentrification is less of a race issue. Here in the US it always seems that some groups (hispanic, black) are being pushed out by white residents. This can prove to be a racial and cultural issue. However in South Africa it seems that the new residents are an even mix of white and black (at least from the pictures).

3) As stated in the article, it is important to maintain good relations with neighboring neighborhoods because as opposed to corporations that can relocated, universities cannot. This is not really what happens as many communities see universities as wall off centers that only seek to their needs. In order to combat this it could be beneficial to seek more communications between the two in form of representatives of each meeting every so an then to upkeep the relationships. They can suggest ways of how the university can invest in the neighborhood in ways of volunteering, building, or donations.