The City as the New Battle Ground

     When it came to the readings, in my opinion, they were difficult to follow and understand.  Except one portion in David Harvey's 'The Right to the City,' where he speaks about how the current urban expansions have brought transformations in lifestyles.  Although he speaks of this happening in the suburbs, this too is happening within the urban centers.  In my personal experience, this is what has happened along the 14th & U street corridor in DC.  After the 1968's Civil Rights Riots, which decimated much of the District, the area remained barren for almost 50 years until the late 90's when an influx in young professionals rushed into the city.  As a result, blocks that were mostly burnt out buildings have been replaced with multimillion condos, boutique gyms and niche grocery stores.

     On any given day, you walk down 14th street and you will never find an empty restaurant, bar, or shop.  It's a stereotypical millennial's dream neighborhood.  Wakeup, head three buildings over down the street to SoulCycle for an early morning spin class, stop by Blue Bottle for a $6 coffee and then pick up a $15 dollar salad at Sweetgreen on your way back home as you get ready to work from home.  For lunch, it's only one block over to Trader Joes to grab some snacks and right next door is Chipotle for a loaded burrito to suit.  Later in the day, it's pregame with friends on the rooftop of your apartment before going out for dinner at a French spot where a reservation had to be made 3 days in advance.  As you make your way back home, you can stop for a drink at bars on either side of the street.  Yes, all of this can be done within a couple of blocks of a neighborhood that can support such a lifestyle.  A lifestyle that is only for the few who can afford it in a city where the average cost of living is already 52% higher than the national average.  The crazy thing is that these neighborhoods are slowly spreading throughout the city as more and more people come into the district.

     As an outsider, we enjoy being able to visit and frequent these neighborhoods and also mock the lifestyles of those who live in these areas.  The people who live there are also those who fully support mom-and-pop businesses.  They appreciate small batch, sustainable practices that come at a price which most cannot afford.  During tough times, these communities can rally together for the causes that lower income neighborhoods cannot afford to partake in.  For example in 2017, when immigrants boycotted, rather than disciplining their staff, which is mostly immigrants, the businesses and many in these communities stood in solidarity with them.  Many businesses closed and the communities took to The Mall to protest.  Without these communities, I wonder how many other communities would go on without their voices being heard.