Down with the old, up with the new

FOR SOME WASHINGTON DC RESIDENTS, THE NEW BASEBALL STADIUM REPRESENTS MORE THAN JUST A DAY A GOOD...  More »

FOR SOME WASHINGTON DC RESIDENTS, THE NEW BASEBALL STADIUM REPRESENTS MORE THAN JUST A DAY A GOOD GAME AND A HOT DOG… IT'S A SIGN OF A CHANGING CITY. There were 9 properties that were seized by eminent domain. So they were sort of kicked out of their houses and stores so they could put in the stadium. MARIA PAZ GALARCE MAY LOOK YOUNG, BUT HER OPINIONS ARE VERY MATURE. It does beautify the neighborhood, but it also skyrockets all the different neighborhoods and all the different stores and houses so people can't live there anymore. THE 13 YEAR OLD WON AN AWARD FOR A SPEECH ABOUT GENTRIFICATION, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON THE NEW STADIUM RECENTLY BUILT IN THE NATIONS CAPITAL. GENTRIFICATION IS A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE THAT MANY AREAS ARE DEALING WITH. You have high income households moving into lower income neighborhoods and that generally brings with it increased investments... Following upon that you often have increased home prices so subsequent home sales are listed at a higher price and also rent can go up. MARIA'S MOTHER PATRICIA SHARES THE SAME OPINION AS HER DAUGHTER. AS A PRINCIPAL AT A SCHOOL IN DOWNTOWN DC, SHE SEES HOW GENTRIFICATION AFFECTS HER STUDENT POPULATION. The people, at least the children at school have been slowly but surely pushed out of the neighborhood BESIDES RESIDENTS FEELING THE PUSH, MARIA SAYS SMALL BUSINESSES CAN ALSO SUFFER FROM THE RAISING RENTS AND CORPORATE COMPETITION. They're getting rid of stores that have been there since they were just starting, through generations of families. And they know the people in the neighborhood. Standup: Cities around the U.S. are drastically changing because of gentrification. Maria and Patricia say big chain stores like Target take away the charm and character of a neighborhood, others say it brings a sense of safety and security. If you have higher income households who have certain expectations for say city services. And if those city services haven't been meeting those expectations, there might be increased demand for better city services that would benefit the neighborhood. BOTH MARIA AND PATRICIA SEE THE VALUE OF SAFETY BUT THEY SAY THERE'S A BETTER WAY OF ACHIEVING IT. I think that we want the city to be beautiful, it's the nation's capital. We want things to change and we want to have a say in that change. However there are ways we can make the city safe and also hold onto the history and culture. LEVY SAYS THERE'S A WAY THAT CHANGE AND CULTURE CAN LIVE IN HARMONY. If there are efforts to support businesses, and that can be done through offering seminars on how to reach a new consumer base, or it can be more towards looking more towards tax burdens that may increase because of the new target and other such stores moving in. TO PREVENT DISPLACEMENT, LEVY SAYS IT'S UP TO THE MUNICIPALITIES TO HELP OUT THE RESIDENTS. Efforts to retain existing affordable housing and produce new. MARIA SAYS A COMPROMISE IS IMPORTANT. At first you would want to live in a neighborhood that would be safe to live in…but it also has to be affordable and it needs to have diversity. PATRICIA AGREES AND BELIEVES IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF RAISING HER KIDS. I want them to have friends from all over the world. I want them to be comfortable in any environment, I want them to be exposed all different kinds of cultures and ways of living. FOR UPI.COM I'M REBECCA FIELD.  « Less