#gracecarmack

3 images that inspire my process

My apartment, then and now.

Grace Carmack

My meaning changes daily!!! 

That being said, I think the opposite of gentrification is inactivity, and I don't think that is right either. Inactivity means that wealth stays where it is, the poor continue to be poor, no one receives anything beneficial, and we address nothing. I think what I crave are the early steps of gentrification; the steps that bring in some resources, create diverse communities, and encourage artistic hubs. There seems to be a tipping place. A point at which the new outweighs the old and communities are switching spots instead of mingling.  

So, my initial research had to do with two questions I had last Sunday, which were:What does closeness/proximity offer and who do I have to become in this gentrifying transformation?

I looked to my hometown, Columbus, OH, which is also undergoing rapid changes, largely brought about by the expansion of OSU.

This had me thinking about how I grew up. I spent most of my time in urban settings. I was raised in poor suburbs. The poor reality was everywhere around me. But I was also quite protected. I always knew I had a home to return to and other consistent and comforting factors to guard me.

These thoughts mixed with my image of the gate in front of my apartment, and what came to me was an initial piece of writing, which follows:

Today my roommate told me that my relationship fell apart because the universe wanted better for me.

If that’s true, then what does the universe want for the man who sleeps in the bushes outside Chase bank?

What does the universe want for the crows, the pigeons, the seagulls that must eat my filth?

I have always found refuge in broken glass. Seen myself in the dirty pools of water that collect in the fractured streets. Columbus to Seattle, I have always known home to mean grimy tile in corner liquor stores and cigarette butts in sidewalk cracks.

This is probably because I’ve never been sliced by a broken bottle or soaked in mud water while searching for a sleeping place. I have never had to beg the man behind the counter for a 40 or a granola bar. I’ve never gone on the hunt for cigarette butts to pass my time.

I was born on the right side of the wall. The inside of the gate.

Gentrification is the process of increasing the value of an area by improving its buildings and resources and suiting them to upper-middle class needs. This process occurs based on new demographic interests and leads to the displacement of said area’s residents, which tend to be of lower class standing. This transformation means that entire city dynamics must shift to accommodate the influx of wealth. The entire city and its residents are then charged with the choice to either try and sustain their culture in spite of the shift, or, to acquiesce and find ways to assimilate.

Gentrification means I must move when the time comes. It means I must assess my privilege. It means I must decide if I will resist the changes or adjust to them. It means I have been given a choice that I never wanted to make and answering questions I was hoping to avoid.