The Whitest City in America

Starbucks-Comes-To-DyckmanPortland, where I grew up, and where I will soon return, has lately been in the news as the “Whitest City in America.” It’s also one of the most rapidly gentrifying. OregonLive, aka the Oregonian, recently reported on how minority communities are doing.

Gentrification in Dogpatch

Dogpatch

The Dogpatch neighborhood in San Francisco is in transition. For a century it was home to blue-collar citizens, many working in the close-by shipyards. Now it’s on the edge of becoming trendy; hipsters are moving in.

We think of gentrification as a once-in-decline neighborhood coming back to life. First arrive the artists seeking lower rents, followed by various craftspeople. Of course, hip people want to be where the artists are. Then come the trendy bars and restaurants, presenting a downscale appearance but with upscale menus. That in turn attracts the trendy and the affluent. Rents start climbing. Well, you know the story.

San Francisco is mostly beyond gentrification. A studio apartment in San Francisco can cost $3,500 per month, gentrified or not.

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