Creating Distinct Place Identity Is Tied to Consumerism

“Capitalism has gotten really good at picking up on these trends and using bohemias as a source of R&;D to develop new products and sponsor new trends,” says Anasi. “Ad agencies send their reps there to see what the kids are up to.” Christopher Mele, author of “Selling the Lower East Side,” says that bohemias aren’t fortified now as they once were. “Bohemian neighborhoods were once considered stubborn and resistant to gentrification, but that’s long gone,” he says. “Just as we are likely to have quick and easy access to niche or specialized markets for music, art, design and other cultural products, we have access to urban neighborhoods with distinct place identities.”

Crowdsourcing Real Estate

 How would you like to get in on a real estate deal which allows you to invest a small amount collectively with other neighborhood investors and be part of a local based development decision that you feel good about? Well, they are trying this out in D.C., Fundrise allows for crowd sourcing local investors to finance a neighborhood commercial development. Check it out at: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/11/real-estate-deal-could-change-future-everything/3897/

I like the potential for the democratization of finance, but also the potential for equity. As far as gentrification, yes I think we need to ask, who benefits, who is involved in the decision making, and for whom will this crowd sourced development be for? It's a start though and I think these guys who created this model are thinking outside the box and have some altruistic motives; but lets push the possibilities of the model further. Can a non-profit or a for-profit use this model in creating affordable housing? So many blocks on the west side and south side of this city have been ravaged by foreclosures, who better to invest in these homes and multi-units than community leaders and neighbors on the block. If the model truly believes longtime locals are best to make and partake contextual development decisions, then we need to bring this democratization down to the guy/gal who has $100 or even $10 to give towards getting homes and buildings livable again.

Curious City: How are Neighborhoods Formed?

Answer:  

 http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/question-answered-how-are-chicago-neighborhoods-formed-103831
 

Comment by BornAndRasied( Me)
Which Chicagoans are defining neighborhoods? Who gets to define where we live? How can one take into account the collective that live in the space we call a neighborhood? I don't think we care to figure that out, and if we do, then maybe we should take it a step further and ask why we have the need and desire to name where we live and cement that by putting in a map. Why? Who benefits and to what extent? I guess, as a  Chicagoan, born and raised, one who never defined my space by neighborhood,  and I have to say, this recent (past 30 years) phenomenon perpetuated by developers, and urbanists, who consume space in this city as they would any niche style of music, fashion, or craft beer, is bogus, any way you cut it.  I've seen too many poor neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color, that give little value to capitalizing on a neighborhood name, unless it's in response to gentrification and as a form of resistance, get steamrolled by urbanists that are altruistic in their impulses, yet the organizing and crowd sourcing that they use in order to justify a new neighborhood name ultimately leaves out many of the people that share their space and have been in there for generations. It's soft-core gentrification. Place matters for sure, but people are situated differently in place and when it comes to defining it, we need to be aware that neighborhood is defined differently depending where you're situated. Let's resist the need to create distinct neighborhood identities, it's just an extension of our ongoing, insatiable human need to find our unique, individual identity. Who benefits, just us and people like us.