1. The public schools themselves loose nothing. They have fewer kids to teach, so yes, they have less money. You can't simply ignore the fact that the public schools are receiving less money because they have fewer kids to teach, thus lower costs. As if that's not even a factor.
No...because in most places DC, PG County and Baltimore being 3 places, school systems are OVERCROWDED. I don't know if you have been keeping up but these places have hired teachers 2 or 3 years ago and are now firing some of these same teachers and forcing others to retire, so I am wondering where this money is being pumped in to keep these folks in jobs
2. There will always be crime and blight. And if suddenly the real estate developers decide a place will be nice to develop, that crime and blight can be moved again. Like I said, developers, none of us owe people anything just because they're poor. It sucks being poor. It should suck being poor.
You just contradicted yourself: Gentrification is generally a good thing for all involved... eliminates crime and blight. Let's go back to what I was talking about when I was referring to gentrification projects stalling. You take a nice area and have it siting borderline to an area that is scheduled to be gentrified. Chances are, crime will go UP. People who have 'nice things' are going to attract a criminal element so no son, you are not always going to 'eliminate crime'. Most people who live in these areas are not used to doing things to keeping themselves safe. Shoot, Kal Penn was just robbed in DC a few weeks ago at 1:30 am in an area that is still going through gentrification. How safe is the area you work in Kevin? How safe do you feel working at night (these are rhetorical BTW, so don't answer, I have an idea of what BS answer you are going to feed us)
3. They got rid of a bunch of crack houses and really brought an old neighborhood back from the brink. There's a really nice strip of art galleries, a few high-end restaurants, a hipster-frequented pizza place, a great annual arts festival, lots of economic activity, lots of filled up rent houses and apartments, a really great vibe. Yeah, gentrification sucks.
And this is what we are talking about, who lives in these areas now? It works for those planning on MOVING INTO these areas. And some of these people get hoodwinked into the belief that the area they are moving into will be built up quickly and that 'blight' they see across the street, around the corner will be quickly and guess what, 5 years from now some of them who were sold on that dream see it becoming a nightmare.
What about those that are already there? What about HOMEOWNERS who have lived there their entire lives and were forced out by those same so called landowners you represent?
4. So? Any investment involves risk. I lost money in the stock market when a small company I'd invested in had its CEO go south with a few million dollars. Do I deserve your pity as well?
Oh boo flippin' hoo Kevin, that was not the point. You tried to make this such a cut and dried subject about who well gentrification works so well for everybody and I was telling you how so wrong you are.
Gentrification is more than about race in DC
Resistance in Baltimore
Crime Wave in Atlanta
So, please dear sir, show me something where as you put it, gentrification works for everyone.