Mixed Neighborhood Elusive but Possible
From Chicago:...traditionally diverse neighborhoods ... are remarkable because they've managed to thrive as diverse communities for decades, becoming neither slums nor totally gentrified as others have...
Community groups that push for affordable housing and good health care, schools and jobs are paramount to maintaining neighborhood diversity...
..."So often when we talk about gentrification, we think it's going to homogenize, but in the first stages, it can actually diversify the neighborhood,"...
Such diversity can be temporary, as rising housing costs tend to push people out...
..."it's important for our country to have those kinds of spaces where people can rub elbows."
Great article!
ReplyDeleteThe Cincinnatus Association recently sponsored a study on stable integrated communities in Cincinnati/Hamilton County. It was interesting AND encouraging that integration could be a destination not just a waypoint to becoming predominantly one race or another.
ReplyDeleteI live in one of the neighborhoods on the list and it's sometimes hard to convince outsiders that it's a good place, largely because of the stereotypes associated with a more balanced racial makeup.
http://www.cincinnatusassoc.org/pages/Stable-Integrated-Communities-Issues-Page.html
^thanks for the link. I looked at the report and the 3 identified neighborhoods are Northside, Madisonville and Pleasant Ridge. All are great neighborhoods IMO. I personally have an affinity for Northside, but sometimes when I mention this neighborhood to co-workers they turn up their noses. Same with Madisonville. Pleasant Ridge not as much.
ReplyDeleteThe 14 neighborhoods are:
ReplyDeleteCentral Business District - Riverfront
College Hill
Corryville
East Walnut Hills
Fairview - Clifton Heights
Kennedy Heights
Madisonville
Mt. Airy
North Avondale - Paddock Hills
Northside
Pleasant Ridge
University Heights
Winton Place
Forest Park
I live in Kennedy Heights, which many people think of as having a lot of crime. The crime rate is in reality among the lowest in District 2 (which includes Hyde Park) and is lower than neighboring Pleasant Ridge. The homeownership rate is higher than PR as well. But people still have their stereotypes, largely based on race.
From the report:
"However, we discovered that Kennedy Heights also clearly maintained stable racial integration even though its black population exceeded 60% after 1970. From 1980 to 2000, it remained at a steady 75% black and a steady moderate dissimilarity index of about 50. Moreover, it is a neighborhood where numbers of residents have consciously sought to maintain racial diversity and block level integration, a factor that appears to have a positive impact on integration. For those reasons, we included it in our group of stable racially integrated neighborhoods."
The full report is at http://www.cincinnatusassoc.org/attachments/1/stable.pdf