Should there be more protection for Puerto Rican residents in Humboldt Park regarding gentrification?
Humboldt park is being gentrified, coming from a Afro Latina who grew up in this community.
How Gentrification effects the Puerto Rican residents in Humboldt park.
What is Gentrification
How does gentrification effect Puerto Ricans in Humboldt park
Why businesses were being closed down
Why did taxes go up in Humboldt Park'
Why is it so expensive to live in Humboldt Park
I surveyed 17 Chicagoan's who used to live in the Humboldt park area, or near it.
Out of the 17 88% of them answered yes, as were 11% answered no.
Interview Summary
My interviewee was my mother, Angie Rodriguez. She is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. She was born in Dominican Republic and moved to P.R then lastly moved and stayed in Chicago. She grew up in Logan square which is fairly close to Humboldt park. She is 41 years old , and has lived in Chicago for half of her life. Her overall opinion on my topic is that she believes that from the outside the new houses and renovation looks really nice, but knowing what comes with that cost is not worth the shiny gentrification. She believes there should be a lot more protection on the Puerto Rican residents in Humboldt park , they are being completely pushed out of their neighborhoods and she believes it's very saddening. I asked her if she has a personal experience with gentrification, and she explained that her mom , my grandma actually lost her business and home because the taxes were so high she could no longer afford to live there, resulting in her having to give her home to the bank. This is relevant to my research and topic because it's a first hand effect of gentrification. I learned a lot about some of her other friends who also had to move out of Humboldt park because it's too expensive to continue to live there. She explains how much she loves the P.R community in HP and it's really sad to see that community diminishing. I learned a lot from these experiences, and I was able to have more evidence to support my topic.
So instead of interviewing people in class/students, I interviewed people in my family about the topic. I did this because I knew I would get the best conversations out of these people. So most of the people answered yes to my question, meaning they believe there should be more protection in this community. Only two people explained no, because they thought that gentrification betters the community, due to the money that is being put into it. So after reviewing everyone's answers my opinion has not really changed, but I was able to strengthen my stance because a lot of the people I interviewed experienced this gentrification at hand in the Humboldt Park area. In conclusion it is clear to me that many people I am surrounded by don't even know what gentrification is, and most of the people who are informed on the topic think that gentrification is not fair to the Puerto Ricans in this community
Gentrification is manipulation to the minorities in this community!
Imagine living in your neighborhood your whole life and then having to move because you and your neighbors can no longer afford it.
Imagine living in your neighborhood your whole life and then having to move because you and your neighbors can no longer afford it. This is exactly what so many Puerto Rican residents in Humboldt park had to go through throughout the years and are still facing today. Gentrification in Humboldt Park has been an ongoing project that is causing so many P.R residents to have a big social and financial change. Although gentrification may bring money and may bring new construction nevertheless, Latino residents need to be protected against gentrification because Latino neighborhoods offer attractive resources that can easily be exploited. Affordable housing is a basic civil right and allows for people to stay in their communities.
When we analyze the definitions of gentrification one is “the process of making someone or something more refined, polite, or respectable.” This is very related to the other definition, of an urban area being changed by wealthy people to make the area more “attractive” in a sense. When looked at this from a bird's eye view it seems like something positive but in fact it's quite the opposite. Gentrification is very hurtful to the urban residents who are already living in that area, the neighborhood is not improving for them, rather it's being improved for wealthy people to move in and those past residents to be pushed out.
Many Puerto Ricans have spoken about these issues and shared their negative experiences. “Puerto Rican residents within the community have felt threatened by the changes in their neighborhood because they fear gentrification will destabilize their community and voiced their concerns. Individual Puerto Rican residents have led the effort to resist gentrification and promote strategies that in their eyes will protect their Puerto Rican community. For anti-gentrification activists change in their neighborhood is especially personal because they see it as detrimental to their cultural identity.”(Daniel Kay). This is a perfect example of how much gentrification affects these residents, gentrification can seem glamorous until you see the true negatives of the new construction, new business, renovation. It's also disrespectful to this community because when gentrification occurs it is implied that the community is not up to par and needs to be changed for the “better”.
Humboldt Park is one of the Hottest neighborhoods in Chicago. There's great real estate in the neighborhood, bringing new construction and beautiful homes and apartments. There's a lot of luxuries, such as nice dog parks , attractive and innovative businesses, restaurants, and so much more. “Known for its large Puerto Rican population and the lovely green space from which its name is derived, Humboldt Park is a West Side neighborhood with no shortage of attractions. The area surrounding the park is filled with great home stores, fantastic coffee shops and even a spot for Japanese food.”(MLC properties and management). It is extremely understandable why Humboldt park is so desirable to so many Chicagoan's, however this comes at the expense of pushing community members out when they went through all the trials and tribulations. In these urban communities these are strong residents who have to deal with so much because they are not very supported like these other communities. So whenever it is decided they believe it's ok to gentrify without respecting the life and civil rights of these Latinos who have established their entire life in this area, and now they can no longer afford to live there.
Affordable housing is something that can be very powerful , it is for those low income households to have aid with their living situation. There are many community leaders in Humboldt Park that have made it their priority to push for affordable housing in that community. This is an example of a protection that is put in place to help these residents, and not automatically be pushed out of their communities because the taxes are so high along with other things. “In May it was announced that Alderman Maldonado and the CEO of Hispanic Housing, Paul Roldan, were moving forward with the building of a new 9-Story Affordable Housing Complex. This complex is part of Hispanic Housing Development Corporation’s “Preserving Paseo Boricua” development strategy, which is working to bring affordable housing to our community so that longtime residents can afford to continue living in the community they have called home for generations.”(La voz staff). There is action taking place. They are trying their best to build these buildings so that many residents, especially older residents can relieve their stress quite a bit. Even though this is taking place so much damage has been done and there's so much money already put into the community the pattern will most likely continue. It is nice that there are developers pushing for affordable housing, “There are many developers who are interested in purchasing this building and keeping it affordable, because affordable housing developers understand the value of this community and this development." (WBEZ). It is wonderful when developers and new people moving into the community are able to understand the respect that should be given to the communities and its members.
After evaluating all the change to this neighborhood and how it truly has affected so many Puerto Ricans in the area, it is important to have more action on affordable housing. It is also important for those who are gentrifying the area to not just invade but rather have respect for the community that was there before them. There needs to be more protection on these residents who are being forced out of the community they love and care for.
Authors last name, first name
Rodriguez, Leilani
Author’s last name, first name
Hertz, Daniel Kay
Title of Source
Wikipedia
Website URL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification_of_Chicago
Date Published 2018
Date Viewed 03/10/22
Author’s last name, first name
WBEZ
Title of Source
WBEZ Chicago
Website URL https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/08/29/755383070/residents-fight-to-stay-in-their-humboldt-park-apartment-building
Date Published August 29, 2019
Date Viewed 03/10/22
Author’s last name, first name
MLC properties and management
Title of Source
MLC properties and management
Website URL https://mlcproperties.com/index.php/en/properties/neighborhoods/humboldt-park
Date Published
Date Viewed 03/11/22
Author’s last name, first name
La voz staff
Title of Source
La voz de Paseo Boricua
Website URL https://prcc-chgo.org/blog/2021/07/03/gentrifiers-latest-attack-affordable-housing-in-humboldt-park/
Date Published July 3, 2021
Date Viewed 03/10/22