Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Oz View Post
Preach. In the early '90s, I visited the parents of one of a high school friend who had moved to a different state, just to see how they were doing. I drove down the street in the middle of August in a car with a busted air conditioner and I kept my windows up and stared straight ahead because of all the people in the street and on the corners. Many were bangers and none looked like he was doing anything productive. I saw the folks and left, scared for my life because there had been so many shootings in the area. Stupid me, I thought going in the day would seem safer, but if so, God help anybody walking that street at night. And I used to hang out over there until 2:00 AM when I was a kid. SMH.

But if it makes any difference, my nephew and his wife recently bought a house about a block away on the same street. It turns out the area was gentrified and a lot of those old houses were fixed up and flipped for three times their value and my nephew's house looks new and the street looks like the safest on that side of town. 180-degree difference. That's why I have to choose my words and sort my thoughts carefully when people talk about gentrification. It's wrong in principle but that neighborhood went from being poor to middle class and now it's no doubt better than it was. At least my nephew benefitted from the shift.
Great story Jerry. I have seen Gentrification occur in cities around Country. I agree it has it's pluses and minuses.