[PEN-L:9978] Campus Area Gentrification

[Sam Pawlett]

In light of recent Pen-L threads on urban questions, I'd would highly
recommend an excellent new book called *Lockdown America* by Christian
Parenti which I've just finished. It reminded me a lot of *City of
Quartz * by Mike Davis except it covers all of America and has a bit
different scope. Parenti touches on the political economy of US urban
decay and gives a detailed,scathing and frightening account of
"Zero-tolerance policing", the social control of "quality of life"
campaigns, "Business Improvement Districts", disastrous urban
"renaissance" projects like convention centers, stadiums and theme parks
as well as the "broken window" criminology of James Q. Wilson and
others. Parenti goes into the policies of Giuliani and the effects they
have had throughout the nation. He also gives detailed case studies of
San Francisco, Indianapolis and Baltimore. Perhaps most frightening is
his account of the rise of private prison industry  and paramilitary
policing. 

   He argues that, basically, poor urban neighborhoods have become
police states. The urban poor and homeless are obstacles in the path of
developers seeking to create "urban hip" areas of the kind so 
effectively lampooned by The Baffler. Further, poor whites are the shock
troops for the creation of these neighborhoods who eventually become the
victims of them. The "scene" is created by poor students and
"counter-culture" types who are then forced to leave because of rising
costs (property values.) 

Seattlites&Portlanders:

   Recently spent a couple of days in Seattle and Portland and was
surprised at how gentrified the downtown areas have become, especially
Pike Place and Belltown (site of the original "grunge" scene) in Seattle
and the area around the bus station in Portland. Very few people on the
street compared to a few years ago. Have Seattle and Portland become
targets for zero-tolerance/quality of life police campaigns or has the
low unemployment rate decreased homelessness etc.? The old grunge bars
like Crocodile and Lava Lounge in Seattle were looking very tacky. I
didn't have the guts to ask whether this was a deliberate strategy to
keep the rich out. Exit the tattoos and nose rings and enter the power
suits strutting along proudly displaying their Nordstrom's shopping
bags. Seattle still has an awesome transit system and a great jazz
scene.

sam Pawlett