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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ignoring the needs of some screws everyone.   I don't see this notion soaking into the DMV zeitgeist anytime soon.  [/quote]
Somebody made a comment a few posts up about how "neighborhoods would improve if people moved there."  "People?"  Aren't there already people in neighborhoods?  It's such a given that "people" means "white people," that a post like that just comes and goes.   [/quote]

No, it isn't a given that "people" means white people.  I think "people" means solid middle income people, of all races/ethnic groups.  Yes, there are already people in neighborhoods, but if it's a concentration of low-income people who rent, the neighborhood tends not to be as stable as far as crime and upkeep.  When you have higher-income people and/or people who own their homes (and have a stable income to own them for a while, as opposed to foreclosing), then neighborhoods tend to see a reduction in crime and an improvement in schools.

It might be an unpleasant reality, but I think you can find proof with gentrification.  And no, I don't believe that gentrification has to be only white people.  I think it is really a matter of stable middle or upper class people.  It makes neighborhoods less transient, and people with money tend to do better (partly because they have the resources) to keep up with their property.  And when a neighborhood looks less run down and there are fewer vacant buildings/houses, it doesn't attract as much loitering and crime.

Also, when people with children move to an area, they tend to take more of an active role at making sure it's safe.  There's more of a daily presence of people outside, et cetera.  So it becomes less of an attractive setting for crime.

Baltimore City is a perfect example.  The areas where there is the most crime are the areas where there are more abandoned houses and buildings and where there are fewer middle class families.  It's not that low-income people don't care or are inherently bad, but they do tend to *not* call the cops or want police presence (that's a whole other topic).  But when middle class families (of all colors) move to an area, they tend to demand more of the cops.  They tend to call the cops if they see teens loitering.  And when less of that is allowed, it helps to prevent drug dealers and others from moving in and taking over an area.  They tend to be less tolerant of crime and they are persistent in getting the police to have a presence, to come out and address issues.

So, yes, there are already "people" in rough or borderline rough areas, but when people with more resources move in, you see improvement.  I don't even think that the low-income people have to be pushed out.  I just think it is never a good idea to have concentrations of poverty, to have neighborhoods where there are vacant and rundown buildings and houses, or run down, abandoned playgrounds that serve as ideal places for crime.[/quote]

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