Money Over Humanity
Kenwood has constantly been improving for centuries; becoming one of the most wealthiest neighborhoods in Chicago. However, many underlying problems still exist within the Kenwood neighborhood. The Chicago Tribune states, “The historical value of the community reaches to North Kenwood, where massive graystones still line the streets, though the area has experienced a drastic change in recent years as spikes in housing costs have forced many low-income residents to relocate.” As property values begin to rise in the Kenwood neighborhood, and many wealthy individuals begin to move in, the cost of living becomes too expensive for low-income individuals, forcing them to move out. Many incoming residents of the Kenwood neighborhood are using gentrification to create discrete racial boundaries within the neighborhood; contributing to the racial segregation of Chicago as a whole.
Kenwood was settled in the 1850s by individuals seeking relief from the increasing congestion of Chicago. The neighborhood continued to prosper through the 1880s and 1890s, and several large single-family homes began to emerge throughout the neighborhood. While Kenwood residents had a variety of transportation options for decades, the “L” finally reached the community in 1907, attracting downtown workers to the northern part of Kenwood. Apartments buildings began to be constructed, and the neighborhood’s population tremendously increased. According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, “Conventional wisdom readily pointed to the influx of African Americans moving out of the Black Belt as the cause of community deterioration and blight in the area.” Due to the spread of transportation in the Kenwood neighborhood, many minorities began to move in. As a result of the societal influence on the minds of individuals, urban neighborhoods with a high number of minorities “... are stereotyped as bad neighborhoods with run down houses and unemployed people. White, rich people then move in and improve the aesthetic conditions of the neighborhood and then the original residents, who eventually are unable to keep up with tax costs and recognize that culture of their old neighborhood is lost, then move elsewhere.“ (Vandergrift 1).
According to PBS, the proportion of racial minorities decline due to this drive-out by the white society, and as a result, implicit racial boundaries are put into place throughout the Kenwood neighborhood. Creating a place within the Kenwood neighborhood for low-income residents would not only improve Kenwood, but it would also improve the living situation of many of the residents who wish to continue living in the neighborhood. Creating a space in which low-income residents can afford to stay where there will not only allow Kenwood to flourish, but this would also eliminate stereotypes and racial boundaries that segregate the neighborhood.
Kenwood was settled in the 1850s by individuals seeking relief from the increasing congestion of Chicago. The neighborhood continued to prosper through the 1880s and 1890s, and several large single-family homes began to emerge throughout the neighborhood. While Kenwood residents had a variety of transportation options for decades, the “L” finally reached the community in 1907, attracting downtown workers to the northern part of Kenwood. Apartments buildings began to be constructed, and the neighborhood’s population tremendously increased. According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, “Conventional wisdom readily pointed to the influx of African Americans moving out of the Black Belt as the cause of community deterioration and blight in the area.” Due to the spread of transportation in the Kenwood neighborhood, many minorities began to move in. As a result of the societal influence on the minds of individuals, urban neighborhoods with a high number of minorities “... are stereotyped as bad neighborhoods with run down houses and unemployed people. White, rich people then move in and improve the aesthetic conditions of the neighborhood and then the original residents, who eventually are unable to keep up with tax costs and recognize that culture of their old neighborhood is lost, then move elsewhere.“ (Vandergrift 1).
According to PBS, the proportion of racial minorities decline due to this drive-out by the white society, and as a result, implicit racial boundaries are put into place throughout the Kenwood neighborhood. Creating a place within the Kenwood neighborhood for low-income residents would not only improve Kenwood, but it would also improve the living situation of many of the residents who wish to continue living in the neighborhood. Creating a space in which low-income residents can afford to stay where there will not only allow Kenwood to flourish, but this would also eliminate stereotypes and racial boundaries that segregate the neighborhood.