[Stan]

Why do neighborhoods invariably deteriorate after blacks move in?

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Name : Stan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, City : Bensalem, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : postman, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[Andy23929]

Neighborhoods do not invariably deteriorate when blacks move in. I live in an area that is wonderfully integrated. Blacks and whites live next to each other, and people of both ethnicities live next to each other with well-kept lawns. Sure, there are some problems, but this area continues to be a safe and clean are in which to live. I'm a little bit worried about your thought that neighborhoods 'deteriorate' when blacks move in. What do you mean by 'deteriorate?'

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Name : Andy23929, Gender : M, City : Indianapolis, State : IN Country : United States, 

[Tish24631]

Neighborhoods do not necessarily deteriorate when black people move in. Any community will suffer a decline when people feel compelled to move out, which generally happens when a few black people move into a 'white' neighborhood. As black people replace those people, the place becomes generally stigmatized, even if the neighborhood is still aesthetically pleasing and a nice place to live. It becomes a 'black' neighborhood, where crime is expected to dwell (even if it doesn't). Eventually, the good, hard-working folks move out because they either don't like living a stigmatized area (some black people don't like living next to other black people) or they want to live somewhere else. Because property values have unduly plummeted, who's left to take up the slack but the ne'er-do-wellers who give all poor neighborhoods a bad name? Thus, it's not black people, but the flight of money and work ethic, that causes a community's downfall. But this scenerio doesn't always happen, especially when a neighborhood is a mixed income one. There are a lot of all-black and integrated neighborboods that are just as nice as lily-white ones. And there are plenty of white ones that are less than desirable.

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Name : Tish24631, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : Newark, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Full time graduate student, 

[Dan27160]

Greatly simplified, the typical pattern usually goes like this: 1) Middle-class blacks move into a formerly predominantly white neighborhood. For a short time (5-10 years), there is a period of integration. Whites leave because they are relocating or moving to larger houses, not because of the racial transition of the neighborhood. 2) Realtors usually don't practice blockbusting (the practice of scaring white homeowners into selling), but increasingly they don't show white homebuyers properties in the area. Black homebuyers are often steered toward the changing neighborhood because it's perceived as a place where they'll feel comfortable. 3) After so many blacks move in, there is a 'tipping point,' a percentage at which whites begin to move out because the neighborhood becomes 'too black' - the whites fear living in what may appear to be a future ghetto. Usually the tipping point is 30 percent to 35 percent black. 4) As many houses go on the market at once, prices drop (decreased demand, increased supply = low prices.) The middle-class exodus accelerates, with both whites and blacks leaving, trying to cut their losses and preserve as much equity as possible. 5) With lower home prices, low-income blacks can now afford to buy houses in the area. Many houses are also purchased by absentee landlords, who tend not to be very selective in screening their tenants. I've found that newer cities that are less ethnically insular tend to integrate much better than old Eastern and Midwestern cities. Denver has many once-black neighborhoods (Five Points, North Park Hill, Montbello) where whites are flocking to, because they have affordable housing prices or historic character. There are some exceptions where 'managed integration' was successful - the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago; Oak Park, Ill.; and Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

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Name : Dan27160, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 34, City : Denver, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : Urban planner, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Carlton-B19249]

I think you have it backward. Neighborhoods are already well past their peak when the ethnicity begins to shift more toward the black end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, many black people don't have that much money (or else we wouldn't be sitting here talking about this), so they can't afford housing on the upswing. Even if they could, the value wouldn't stay there because white folks (at least in the South) scatter when they have a black neighbor, which only makes the problem worse. What goes around comes around, though. In downtown Atlanta, many of the white residents (such as myself) are moving in from the suburbs because traffic is so bad. People are paying top dollar to move into 'black' neighborhoods to live closer to their jobs. And believe it or not, there's organized black opposition to this phenomenon ... exactly like the whites did 30 years ago. People never change!

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Name : Carlton-B19249, Gender : M, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, 

[Carol]

Regardless of ethnicity and race, neighborhoods deteriorate rapidly if there are more renters than homeowners living there. And a neighborhood deteriorates at lightning speed if the homes become Section 8 Housing.

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Name : Carol, City : Annapolis, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : hard worker, Social class : Middle class, 

[Victoria24560]

I am not racist (I hope not, anyway), but since ethnic minorities (blacks and Hispanics) have moved to my neighborhood, the place has gone downhill. Crime has increased, and the black teens are quite hostile to me when I haven't done anything but be nice and smile at them. There are now two houses on our block that have more than 10 people living in each. In one house they don't even speak English, for heaven's sake. I know this sounds racist, but these are the facts. If they were nice, decent people, I would have no problem with it. But these people just don't belong. I suspect they aren't of a high class of people. Not wealth, mind you, but of morals and standards and especially education. I hope I did not offend readers.

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Name : Victoria24560, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 14, City : Stroudsburg, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Upper class, 

[Claudia-S]

I feel black Americans do not bring down the value of a neighborhood. Poor opinions of people, like those Stan expressed, do. I am a black female who grew up in a neighborhood of many races, and everyone took care of their homes and the neighborhood. Color has nothing to do with this issue. It depends on the person. For instance, since my parents have divorced, my mother now lives in an all-black neighborhood. The people who work and want something for themselves take care of their homes and the neighborhood. Those who do not work do not care about their homes, much less the neighborhood, but feel they have to have the nicest car on the block. These are people who have never owned anything, don't want to be anything and couldn't care less about people like you. There are many black Americans such as my family and myself who take care of ourselves and our community. I have been on my own for six years. I have a car, an apartment, am enrolled at a college in which I will be receiving an undergraduate degree in accounting and am applying to several colleges to study for a graduate degree in elementary education. I forgot to mention I work for one of the top companies in the country, Nortel Networks. My neighbors did not have a problem with me moving into their neighborhood because I care about myself, my home and my community.

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Name : Claudia-S, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : Durham, State : NC Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[George G.]

The premise is backward. Actually, it goes this way:

1) Neighborhoods are built.
2) They get run-down with age, or tastes change (many people now want three baths and three bedrooms, for example).
3) The owners move away and rent out the houses. As absentee landlords, they don't take care of them (neither do the tenants).
4) Property values drop.
5) Poor people (blacks or Hispanics in my city) move in because they can afford the rents.

Check out the high property values in places like Sugar Hill (New York) and Ladera Heights (Los Angeles), where black people live. No deterioration there. Also, Brentwood did not suffer a slump in property values when O.J. Simpson made his home there.

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Name : George G., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : likes peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 68, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Writer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[alex]

White Flight is all.

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Name : alex, Gender : F, Race : *poweRpuFF greeN*, Age : 19, City : houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : *maDsCienTist*, 

[Ashley-M23484]

I doubt this is a matter of race for one very big reason, which happens to be next door. My neighbors are white and live in the filthiest of lice-filled conditions I have ever been unfortunate enough to see. I live in an affluent African-American neighborhood, but none of my other neighbors have houses in as poor of a condition as the 5 white people (2 parents and 3 adult children) living in the 3 bedroom house next door. I am not exaggerating when I say that I visited their house ONCE and the foul stench pervading from every corner of the house was unbearable. Their front yard is littered with cars on cinder blocks and their grass is NEVER mowed and filled with tire tracks. I believe they are not this way because they are white, but because they are living in a neighborhood in which they don't take pride. The Black people feel socially obligated to keep attractive lawns out of respect for their peers, something I doubt my white neighbors feel. They moved into an affluent neighborhood because they could afford the house (barely), but not the lifestyle. What you are talking about is an economic issue and happens to people of all colors in neighborhoods of all colors including my Black neighborhood with the oddball white people and their raggedy lawn.

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Name : Ashley-M23484, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 18, City : Charlotte, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : student, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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