Personal Narrative: Oakland

I have lived in East Oakland my whole life. To the majority of people, the mention of East Oakland evokes thoughts of violence, shootings, and gangs. I was one of the people who believed in these stereotypes, and for a particularly long time. I was one of the people who saw Oakland as a wasteland, a place with nothing to offer me, and a place I had nothing to offer to.

One night, during the cold winter, I walked along the side walk to reach the local store down the block. As I walked out, before I can realize it, I was dropping down onto the concrete while bullets swiftly passed me. I then began to run back home, but I wanted to keep running. Away from Chicago, away from the west side. Growing up in Chicago, it was easy to assume that there was nothing different beyond the blocks of my streets. Everybody lived the same way and talked the same way; not many people was different. I made my own decision, at the age of 10 to not be another statics of my community. When my mother moved my family and I to San Antonio, I devoted my time to school and bettering my opportunity to go to a Tier one institution which

Lance Freeman, an associate professor of urban planning in Columbia, wanted to investigate if there was any displacement going on in two predominantly black neighborhoods that was briskly gentrifying. Much to his dismay, he couldn’t find any correlation between gentrification and displacement. What was surprising to Freeman was his discovery, “poor residents and those without a college education were actually less likely to move if they resided in gentrifying neighborhoods”. (Sternbergh, 19) Freeman adds, “The discourse on gentrification, has tended to overlook the possibility that some of the neighborhood changes associated with gentrification might be appreciated by the prior residents.” (Sternbergh, 19) Essentially, we can concur that a blighted neighborhood that goes through gentrification doesn’t displace the current residents living there, but in fact makes the residents want to stay. With gentrification the area becomes safer, more businesses open up and the neighborhoods become a welcoming, family friendly place to live. Without gentrification a blighted neighborhood stays, as is, a neglected area that doesn’t attract businesses or

“I’ll come back to visit sometime,” is what I am obligated to tell to every single one of my friends I made. Since I was young I never had trouble making friends, but keeping them was a challenge to me. It wasn’t because I was mean or because I didn’t want friends, it’s because I moved around a lot when I was younger. I was born in Fresno, California, but then I moved to Mexico at a really young age so I was raised there until I was five years old. I can’t really remember much from Mexico mainly because I was too young.

Growing up in California, my whole life has been around farming and like many others, it’s how I make a living. It’s now been at least a year, living through the Dust bowl and many people have migrated to California with the hope of surviving this crisis. Keeping my crops has become a struggle and that's what most people including me depend on. I am lucky enough to be able to pay my mortgages even though I’m not able to keep the land with the help of family. It’s practically impossible. Each day doesn’t seem to get better, only worse. Sunlight is almost rare, It’s as if the world is coming to end after all. I try to stay inside as often as I can because facing what’s outside is a dreadful thing but at some point of the day I’ll need to run

For decades, the boundary was strictly policed and practically impermeable. In 1970 April Miller’s hometown was 97 percent white. By 1990 San Leandro was 65 percent white, 6 percent black, 15 percent Hispanic, and 13 percent Asian or Pacific Islander. With minorities moving into suburbs in growing numbers and cities becoming even more diverse, the boundary between city and suburb is dissolving, and suburban teenagers are changing with the times”(691).

This year during college summer break, my friends planned a trip to Dallas, TX to visit the place, where former US President “John F Kennedy was assassinated. President Kennedy was shot dead on November 22,1963 by Lee Harvey, Oswald. Dallas is a three-hour long drive from Houston, TX. All of us were excited for this trip. The trip was a success as for all of us it was a learning experience, as we visited the historical landmark of US history which has influenced us all.

As we entered the ballpark in our car, we could see the majestic baseball field. People were already working on the fields, making the grass sparkle and the dirt smooth. We drove down the consummately paved road to the barracks and as they came into view, I could see several of them. All of them right next to each other, identical. I slowly exited the car, opened the trunk and got all of my baggage. I had one bulky bag carrying my clothes, my bat bag, and an extra small bag for snacks. As I walked through the parking lot, I heard kids stomping the ground making a “thud thud” sound and shouting at each other with excitement in their voices. We walked

When people ask me, “Camille, where are you from?” I answer, without hesitation, “Stockton, California.” Yet, I am not a true “Stocktonian.” Yes, I have resided here for the past five years, but I still regard myself to be a “Moragan.” For eight years, the hills of Moraga, California was a place to call my home. At age five, I became a roadrunner at Donald L. Rheem Elementary and at age eleven, I became a marauder at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School. Sadly, I never had the chance to become a cougar at Campolindo High School. Yet ever since I was in kindergarten, I was drawn to Saint Mary’s College. Living down the street from the campus, I heard every cheer from the nightly sports games, listened to every hourly church bell, and started at

In this article from the NAACP’s monthly journal Crisis, the authors highlighted how gentrification negatively affects minorities by displacement, in particular those from the African American community. Furthermore, they made the argument that this systematic force needs to end in order to combat the spread of economic inequality. To back up their claim Portland, Oregon was used to back up their thesis of gentrification hurting the economically disadvantaged, because while it is cited as being the model gentrification hub, as well as one of the more progressive cities in the nation, African Americans have continually bore the brunt of the city’s continued rapid urban redevelopment with being priced out of their own neighborhoods, such as the

I grew up in inner city Baltimore Maryland. Neither of my parents were or are followers of Christ. They divorced when I was very young. I spent most of my life moving from place to place with my mother and two brothers. I gave up on high school when I failed my freshmen year. I didn’t have a care in the world about anything except my own desires and needs. My mother started to get in trouble with the state of Maryland because I was not old enough to be out of school. She cut me deal by saying if I went to school until I was old enough to drop out, she would sign my drop out papers.

Moving throw places looking for a better tomorrow, I found myself in San Francisco, a prospering and innovative city located in Northern California. A city of multicultural neighborhoods and diverse populations. The home of Europeans, Asians, South Americans and Hispanics; where you could be whomever you wish to be, due to the lack of a principal or dominant subculture.

I agree with the lecturer’s main argument about race and space being constructed, how the infracstructural growth led to this social consequence, and also how these social consequences were long lasting and affected the development of Los Angeles. Water also plays a very important aspect to the development of Los. Angeles. It led to irrigation and sewer systems. .Having water gave people a better quality and new ideas of life. Although it is very important, it has led to social consequence. Since the Chinese and Mexican Californians worked on the sewers and irrigation systems, they also faced anti Chinese and anti Mexican laws due to constructivism. Then there was the municipal improvement plan of 1857 when people from the United States passed

Residential mobility changes over time, and brings changes to social structures and cultures of a city (Oishi 2010). Atlanta has witnessed an incredible urban expansion, racial re-composition, and migration patterns over decades. Atlanta’s experience is an example of how urban growth is intertwined with a complex mix of Race, Ethnicity, migration and social inequality factors in the United States. A micro level longitudinal study will help to understand how these complex relations among race, social inequalities and urban development are shaping urban landscapes of American cities.

Soon there will be no home for minorities and lower income in San Francisco. The districts of San Francisco soon will lose all its original dwellers to the high demands of the Bay Area. The new, “improved” population is overtaking a district such as the Mission that historically has been home to Central and South American immigrants. As you stroll down Valencia Street, once home to taquerias, bakeries, bars and auto mechanic shops, one can instantly see the difference. The addition of organic ice cream shops, chain restaurants, luxury condominiums, and cafes serving beignets and soy lattes are steadily replacing the 99-cent stores, sex shops, thrift stores, and local markets of the city’s original working-class Latino neighborhood. As San Francisco has become one of the hottest living destinations for the new techies that have moved to the Silicon Valley, the Mission has become one of the liveliest locations in the city. After Mark Zuckerberg’s purchase of an apartment in the mission, it was a must live area for young yuppies and techies. The center of the city has historically been home to Mexican and Central American immigrants whose large families live in small apartments in narrow Victorians and older buildings. Even though the local flavor is still here, the housing prices