The Gentrification of Jersey City Literature & Language Essay (Essay Sample)

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The Gentrification of Jersey City
History narrates that Jersey City has come a long way from the 1970s. In the past, downtown Jersey City was well known because it housed a large number of poor people. However, in the 1980s, the process of gentrification started to march steadily into Jersey City (Curran 1427). Currently, the homes that were going for a $ 100, 000 in the late 1970s are now going for over $ 1, 000,000. All the above changes are because of the gentrification of Jersey City.
According to Merriam -Webster, gentrification is the process of repairing and rebuilding shelters (homes or houses) or even businesses in a deteriorating area. For example, gentrification tends to occur around urban neighborhoods that have a huge number of the influx of the affluent or middle-class residents and this often results in the displacement of the poor residents that were initially residing in the area. (Curran 1428). As a result, the process of gentrification causes the price of homes, rent, and business to skyrocket dramatically. Besides, the economy of such areas changes, and this can be seen in downtown Jersey City, which is now doing much better than it did before the gentrification. For example, in Jersey City, there are now new popular stores, restaurants, bars, and luxury apartments that are consistently springing up. However, there are those people of different socio-economic status who argue that gentrification’s costs always outweigh its benefits. For example, in the Jersey City, gentrification has led to economic prosperity of the city and betterment of the neighborhood, since the number of crime rate has gone down and most social amenities came to the area such as better schools, hospitals, and administrative offices and many more businesses