I Do What I Want

If you own the property, you are subject to property taxes. The government, both state and federal, tax people a percentage of their total wealth. If you buy a house, and pay $100,000 for it, that is the value of the house at that time and you are taxed (in Austin, Tx for example) 1.34 percent of that over the year. That equals $1340 a year, which is about $110.00 a month. The mortgage payment would be about $450 dollars a month, plus about $50 in general expenses, such as roof repair and upkeep. So the landlord pays $610 a month whether or not a tenant is in the apartment. So they would be able to rent the apartment at around $700 a month, to give them some incentive.

Now, let’s say the next door neighbor sells their identical house for $200,000. The landlord has done nothing different, but all of the sudden, their property taxes double, because the house is now worth twice as much. The landlord is now being charged monthly $720 just to own the house.  And let’s say that the landlord relies on the extra income they get from their rental to pay their own bills. They have no choice but to raise the rent to accommodate that they now have to pay more just to own the property.

The establishment of social-machines that can control this flow begins in legislature, such as when rules for a property tax are set out. You seem to be ignoring that property taxes themselves are a major source of money that the state allows to go right back into the neighborhood, creating a relation where the production of higher-value property leads to a greater availability of city services in an area, which raises the value of property in that area. 

Property becoming more expensive means that business which charge more for their products, businesses that both embody and signify prestige become more common, and companies that are merely looking for space are driven out. For example, how the Meatpacking District in New York has seen a change to high-price luxury retail dominating many of its streets. 

The commonality of how aesthetics of retail stores and office spaces alike can deterritorialize empty factories and warehouses and create signifiers of wealth and luxury upon these previous symbols of working-class life (after all, who works in these buildings?) is itself an expression of how gentrification fundamentally changes a neighborhood. 

& he holding the beat down .

Museum of African American History & Culture, Washington DC

[click image to enlarge]

Opens Fall 2016  [official website]

Left is @body_by_burnhard