Michael Cao
I realized that prior to taking the Spatial Justice course, I was an Economics attending college in Highland Park without knowing too much about the history or culture of the local space. Because of this, I had heard the term gentrification spoken of very negatively, but couldn’t exactly comprehend what it meant apart from my understanding of economic theory, which introduced it in the context of prices, markets and allocative efficiency. In many ways, the material that I was introduced to and the voices that I heard in a class that was centered on primarily the experience of local community members both expanded and challenged my existing knowledge of gentrification. I liked that the class focused on the experiences of the people who are most negatively affected by gentrification, because that’s what makes gentrification an important issue for me; it is a process that benefits certain people, but also hurts others. Regardless of whatever economic or moral argument that we come up with to justify gentrification, we cannot ignore this consequence. Our class has done a substantial amount of community work, which has helped to bridge the gap between theory and praxis (“reality”). The community-based partnership aspect of the class is integral to our approach to gentrification, because it aligns with our stated aim to support members of the local community. Without this communication, it is impossible to know exactly what the community would like to see happen, and to be sure that we’re not doing something that they don’t want. It is always important to remember that our class is trying to serve the community, and not to simply impose our own ideals of what is best onto them, which would only be another patronizing form of silencing their voices.
After hearing several of the local residents speak, many of the ideas that I had of gentrification and how it affects space were challenged. Coming from an international background and a family that moved around quite a bit during my childhood, I had not personally experienced a strong personal connection to a particular neighborhood or space. For me, it was very interesting for me to hear people, who came from families who had been in Highland Park for several generations, share their memories forming attachment to certain shops and streets as a child, or about the strong sense of togetherness they felt with other people in their neighborhood. Upon hearing this, I was overcome by a feeling of sadness, realizing that gentrification not only results in the displacement individual families, but also in the tearing-apart of a local culture, and a beautiful, closely knit network of families, friendships, and bonds. In free-market economics, it is generally assumed that if two rational individuals reach an agreement, it necessarily improves overall welfare and happiness in society (or, “the community”). However, one can’t help but question the ethics of such an idea when many the people who will be most affected by the decision are not included in the discussion. Who is included in “society?” What are the ways in which we quantify calculate welfare that produce a “better” result? For many people, the mainstream economics associates gentrification with development, beautification, and progress, and encourages a position that supports it. The narratives of members of the Highland Park community reveal a collection of voices that are left out of the dominant representation of gentrification, and for me, suggest that we must task ourselves with the responsibility of becoming more aware of the effects that such beliefs are producing.
In order to try to give more attention to the voices that are sometimes not heard, our class used a variety of methods to expand the existing collection of data and information that is involved in gentrification. These methods included compiling photographs of local art and culture in an online map and devising non-traditional survey questions aimed at obtaining information about experiences that are not expressed in typical surveys (ex. About income, age, etc.). Translating this wealth of information to a language that is accessible to the public is crucial to producing a narrative that challenges existing ideas surrounding gentrification.
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Bio
Michael Cao is a junior Economics major and a Critical Theory & Social Justice minor. He is interested in applying his knowledge from critical theory in trying to imagine alternative ways to structure the economy. He has enjoyed taking the Spatial Justice class, which has given him a range of counter-perspectives to the ones that he is given in the Economics department, and allowed him to witness the valuable range of diverse perspectives from displaced communities. In his spare time, he enjoys singing and weightlifting.