PagcA6________________________________________ _____ ^ ' " ^ ¡ J o r t k t n h ( O h s e r u e r
lune 2 2 .200s
Surprising Results on Gentrification
acks leaving the neighborhood,
lot o f them m ove to the neigh­
highly segregated by race and by
borhood for the diversity and
class. This is a very unique time
feel like the neighborhood is
where we have neighborhoods that
changing and they d o n ’t have
exist that are socially and economi­
control over it,” he said. “I do
cally diverse,” he said, “i n terms of
sense frustration and helpless­
people’s opinions, it seems to be
ness on their part.”
the case that most people, black
Beyond ow ning or renting is
and white, seem to like the way the
the boom of local business in
neighborhood is changing and are
the area, with New Seasons
optimistic that the neighborhood
M arket and the A lberta Co-op
will get better.”
G rocery store.
The study was conducted via
“One o f the things you find
census data that showed how the
in neighborhoods that are poor
demographics bounded by North­
is an absence o f basic retail like
east 15lh and 33rd Avenues to the
grocery stores,” Sullivan said.
w est and e a st and n o rth e a st
“One o f the potential benefits
Killingsworth and Prescott Streets
is that it bring in retail every­
to the north and south has shifted
body in the neighborhood can
between 1990 and 2000. Randomly
u se .”
chosen, 243 residents were sur­
The study found that many
veyed, with a response by 76 per­
o f its participants used these
cent.
P hoto by I saiah B oue / T he P ortland O bserver stores but that those associ­
It found that a majority of Alberta 4 mural decorates the side of a taqueria building on Alberta Street, accenting the Hispanic
ated with gentrification were
residents enjoy their neighborhood culture in the area.
the primary shoppers.
and feel it’s gotten better over the
Like the Pearl D istrict and
last five years.
M ississippi Street, A lberta has
goes down and city services usually get cent of the community and lack of afford­
But those with characteristics associ­ better.”
able housing was a concern among 59 its very own art walk every “Last T hurs­
ated with gentrification, white, college-
day” o f the month to get people outside,
The results in response to the overhaul percent, 17 percent being homeowners.
educated homeowners, were the people
Homeowners also were found to inter­ enjoy music, art pieces and food, and to
were a surprise for Sullivan.
who found the change most favorable.
“I thought there would be more people act with neighbors, participate in local enjoy each other’s company.
Equally, these were also the people who who w ouldn't like the change,” he said. “I organizations and send their children to
Ironically, residents in the area for
saw the most problems: lack of affordable would think that renters would be very private or non-local schools more than more than 10 years were least likely to
housing, poor quality schools and drug concerned about rising rents and there is renters.
attend Last Thursday, w hereas whites
dealing. Those who have lived in Alberta some evidence that they are concerned
Sullivan says that despite being part with college degrees and outsiders were
for less than a year or more than 20 years that they would be displaced. I thought o f the problem , m ost o f those associ­ more likely to visit. Almost half of minor­
found the least amount of problems.
that more people of color would say that ated with gentrification w eren’t happy ity residents had attended at least once.
“If you bring in middle class, they tend they don’t like the changes because this about the changes taking place con­
T h e re p o r t c a n be fo u n d at
to demand a lot more from the city,” is an area that has had a large concentra­ cerning displacem ent of African A m eri­ w w w . p d x . e d u / m e d i a / a / 1 /
Sullivan said. “They usually call the police tion of minorities and cultural institutions.” can s.
A lberta_Survey_l 104.pdf.
more, complain to the city more. Crime
“
I
d
o
n
’t
think
most
o
f
them
are
happy
Displacement is a worry among 25 per­
continued
'Roots! Binds
African Americans
by N icole H ooper
T he P ortland O bserver
The gentrification of north and north­
east is a current concern for many, includ­
ing Lakita Logan who founded Roots! out
o f feelings o f isolation when long-time
residents moved out of the neighborhood.
Supporting an African-American com­
munity that is self-sufficient economically
and culturally is the goal of her organiza­
tion.
C o m m u n ity a w a re n e ss o f the
gentrification issue when be discussed
when Roots! hosts an Interpreting His­
tory Workshop, Tuesday, June 28. The
correlation of displacement o f Portland’s
black community and urban renewal will be
discused. The event will begin at 6 p.m. at
the King Neighborhood Facility, 4817 N.E.
Seventh Ave.
Logan believes that “so called revital­
ization” is affecting black Portland culture
in a negative manner and she iscontinually
seeing businesses that do not embrace the
African-American culture.
“There aren’t a lot of places to go for
social networking with in our community,”
Logan said. “We are small and I sometimes
feel segregated.”
For more information, call 'Roots! at 503-
288-4021 orvisitwww.rootspdx.org.
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