If you live in northwest Washington, D.C., the talk of the town for the past few months has been the giant retail center slated to open in Columbia Heights this month that will include a Target and a Best Buy. The retail center is smack in the middle of a neighborhood that is traditionally African American, with a recent upsurge in Hispanic residents. But somehow this glowing piece on the development in today's Post managed to not once use the word "gentrification" to talk about what's happening in Columbia Heights. The piece gives only anecdotal attention to the concerns of all the people who will likely be pushed out as the area becomes more desirable to folks with higher incomes, and instead makes it seem like the new construction will turn the neighborhood into a multicultural wonderland:
Columbia Heights' rebirth is not only about the arrival of bricks and mortar at a crossroads that long struggled to recover from the looting and arson that followed Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. It's about the blending of cultures and classes.
But the neighborhood is already an interesting mix of cultures, incomes and generations. Meanwhile, the rapid changes don't bode well for the neighborhoods older residents:
"Columbia Heights potentially is the manifestation of Dr. King's vision," said William Jordan, a resident of more than 20 years. "You have the potential not just for token integration but for a critical mass of old and young, low-income and affluent."
But Jordan questioned whether that spectrum can withstand economic pressures. "Can this last longer than half a generation?" he asked.
The answer, sadly, is probably not. As the article notes, between 2000 and 2005, the median income of homebuyers in the neighborhood rose from $76,000 to $103,000, according to the Urban Institute. And that was before this retail wonderland came to town.
The piece also misses the larger trend, which is that this is happening in cities everywhere as they become more appealing places to live for the young and well-heeled. The communities being displaced deserve more than a passing reference and the impression that they're happy the get to be part of white, middle class people's "dream" of living in a diverse neighborhood.
--Kate Sheppard
