Harlem is improving its infrastructure and expanding the amount of jobs. Positivity for the economy of the neighborhood.
Harlem’s gentrification, at the possible expense of its cultural legacy, is necessary because such changes can bring economic growth through improving its infrastructure which will then encourage commercial investment, increasing employment and decreasing crime.
Gentrification in Harlem resulting positive more than negative. As well to mention the concept “Skyrise for Harlem” being important and created by June Jordan in 1965, not only that but evaluating the situation and context to know why it did not succeed and could have been different for it to take it on plan.
Extremely encouraged, Harlem is demonstrating how being constructive within important architectural projects are bringing important results that contribute to its community. One of them is improving the infrastructure when it comes to observing Harlem as part of New York City, one of the most important and famous cities in the world.
Harlem has been one of the most affordable neighborhoods in Manhattan, however recently there have been new architectural projects being constructed in Harlem bringing negative and positive impacts to the community. Highlighting some positive aspects are the economic growth bringing construction activity jobs and declining crime rate.
June Jordan’s concept “SkyRise for Harlem”, a project where “no one would move nowhere but up”. This plan was a radical landscape where she planned to accommodate half a million people, and even though this resulted in not being constructed it is important to go back in time to know what can be different in order to succeed.
Important to discuss that gentrification has had positive impacts and if it keeps developing the way it is now, in the future it will have economic opportunities by raising business jobs and expanding the number of entrepreneurs within the neighborhood.
How to describe Harlem?
Once the renaissance era occurred between the Harlemites, this is to say when most of the demographics was fulfilled with Black members mostly, notable changes happened. Langston Hughes has been chosen to help understand what Harlem means from the beginning of time.
He has managed to introduce so many high-value questions in a poem as short as “Harlem” in which he discusses the possibilities of chasing a dream, and the awareness of Black communities trying to pursue their dreams in a neighborhood such as Harlem where they are being blocked from advancing because of racism, creating hope in a hopeless place. It is important to mention that the poem was written in 1951, 20 years after the Harlem Renaissance where Non-Hispanic White people started to emigrate from Harlem because of the rapidly high concentration of African American communities. Langston specifically mentions “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”(Line 2-3), pointing at the time an aim is being delayed because of this social injustice.
Although some people argue that racism may not be the major factor for Black people to chase their goals, the poet shows the contrary by stating “Or does it explode?” (Line 11) where he gives the final option for one’s goal, after listing all the negative paths for someone to pursue hope on the objective. Making it a score of four negative choices versus two positives, giving a low chance for a Black person to succeed. In sum, his view toward Harlem is based on hopelessness because of racial separation and dividing social classes based on skin color as well, for that reason Black communities are pushed back from what progression can be in them.
