This blog post will review a February 21 University News post by Lauren Hutchins, detailing the gentrification of the Shaw Neighborhood.
Previously seen as unwelcoming and uninviting, the Shaw Neighborhood located in the South City of Washington D.C. has undergone a significant neighborhood transformation.
The primary resident population of African American tenants were forced to move and sell their homes after residences were remodeled and prices skyrocketed. Some were offered sums of money, some were tantalized by rumors of house burnings, and some were forced out due to rent increases.
Previous tenant Torrence Mann described the Shaw Neighborhood as "kinda rough", with lots of "dope selling", "gang activities", and "shooting and killing". Other previous residents described the neighborhood as "rough" and "violent".
Many residents put up a fight against property buyers to maintain their homes, with some refusing to accept any sum of money being offered. Most notably, the tenants whose houses were "purposefully burned down" were truly forced to seek housing elsewhere. The strategy behind these burnings would open up new land for new developments to be sold at higher price points.
As urban projects and developments are now prevalent in the Shaw Neighborhood, a subsequent influx of new upscale neighborhood businesses have arisen - including the openings of new cafes, wine bars, and botanicals. The demographic of the city has also notably shifted, with the African American population decreasing by 67% and the white population increasing to 46%.
Time will tell how these new developments and demographic due to gentrification will continue or change the Shaw Neighborhood's notorious history of crime and violence.
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