Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
^ It's got to be B. I realize that there are still plenty of racists out there, but I honestly think that there are a lot of white or Asian millennials who are not racist enough that they would have no problem living in a majority black area provided 1) it is relatively safe and 2) there are plenty of things to walk to such as shops, restaurants, cafes, etc.
Bronzeville, Kenwood, etc have a beautiful housing stock but their commercial corridors are either nonexistent or just totally SUCK.
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It's honestly both, but your (b) point is certainly a major reason too IMO. There are many people who simply don't care which area they're in as long as it has some kind of walkability and transit. For the people who are first wave gentrifiers (i.e. hipsters many times), the reality of safety doesn't matter to them nearly as much as someone who only moves to gentrified areas. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel that sometimes first wave gentrifiers (i.e. hipsters) love to go to areas with an abundance of non-American food options - which is something areas like East Garfield Park, North Lawndale, West Garfield Park, etc doesn't really have apart from having blocks with too many vacant lots. In that world, being in an area with only Mexican food and only Spanish being spoken in is a lot sexier than an area with a bunch of American food. In all honesty, I'd bet a million dollars you'd see people trying to gentrify an area like Little Village way before an area like Washington Park due to that fact but also the fact that there's an abundance of buildings already.