Page 488 - Essencials of Sociology

The Development of Cities 461

Down-to-Earth Sociology

Reclaiming Harlem: A Twist in the Invasion–Succession Cycle

he story is well known. The inner city is filled with crack, become a normal part of this urban scene. Not only did they
crime, and corruption. It stinks from foul, festering filth shut down the open-air drug markets, but they also began
Tstrewn on its dangerous streets and piled up around enforcing laws against urinating on the streets, something
burned-out buildings. Only people who have no choice live they used to ignore as too trivial to matter for “that area.”
in these despairing areas where predators stalk their prey. The greater safety of the area has attracted even more of the
Danger lurks around every corner. middle class. The change is so extensive that former presi-
What is not so well known is that affluent African Ameri- dent Clinton chose to locate his office there, and Magic
cans are reclaiming some of these areas. Johnson opened a Starbucks and a multiplex.
Howard Sanders was Another side of the story
living the American Dream. has emerged—tension be-
After earning a degree tween the people who were
from Harvard Business already living in Harlem and
School, he took a position the newcomers. Social class
with a Manhattan invest- is often the source of the
ment firm. He lived in an irritation. Each class has its
exclusive apartment on own ways, and the classes
Central Park West, but he often grate on each other’s
missed Harlem, where he nerves. The old-timers like
had grown up. He moved loud music, for example,
back, along with his wife while the newcomers prefer
and daughter. a more sedate lifestyle. Then
African American law- there is the old power estab-
yers, doctors, professors, lishment. They feel slighted
and bankers are doing the if the newcomers don’t ask
same. their approval before they
What’s the attraction? open a business. For their
The first is nostalgia, a cul- part, the new business own-
tural yearning for Harlem One indication of the remarkable transformation of Harlem is town hall ers feel they don’t need to
meetings. This one was held to discuss a rezoning issue.
past, the time of legend get those old people’s per-
and folklore. It was here mission to open anything.
that black writers and artists lived in the 1920s, here that the There is another issue as well. Remember those large
blues and jazz attracted young and accomplished musicians. houses that sold for a song? No longer. Vacant lots now bring
The second reason is that Harlem offered housing values. a million dollars. Rents have shot upward, of course. Tenants’
Some homes, built in the 1800s, boasted five bedrooms and associations protest, their moans mostly muffled and unheard.
6,000 square feet. They sold for a song, even with Honduran And the poor? The same as happened in other gentrified
mahogany. Some brownstones were in good condition, al- areas. Most are pushed out, block by block, forced into ad-
though others were only shells and had to be rebuilt from the joining rundown streets.
inside out. The in-fighting of this emerging drama mostly involves
What happened was the rebuilding of a community. Some African Americans. The issue is not race but social class. The
people who had succeeded in business and the professions “invasion–succession cycle,” as sociologists call it, is continu-
wanted to be role models. They wanted children in the com- ing, but this time with a twist—a flight back in.
munity to see them going to and returning from work.
When the middle class moved out of Harlem and the area Sources: Based on Leland 2003; Hyra 2006; Williams 2008; Haughney
was taken over by drug dealers and prostitutes, the amenities 2009; Barnard 2012.
moved out, too. When the young professionals moved back
in, the amenities returned. There were no coffee shops, res-
taurants, jazz clubs, florists, copy centers, dentist and optom- For Your Consideration
etrist offices, or art galleries—the types of things urbanites ↑ Would you be willing to move into an area of high crime in
take for granted. Now there are. order to get a good housing bargain? How do you think the
The police have also helped to change Harlem. No longer current residents of an area being gentrified can be protected
do they just rush in, sirens wailing and guns drawn, to con- from rising rents and allowed to continue to live in the area?
front emergencies and shootouts. Instead, the police have Should they be?