Gentrification is an emotional problem for many people in our social housing community. Many old houses and buildings, of what was historically considered?Niddrie, they’re gone. Instead, there are green fields, construction sites, new apartments, houses and a variety of government agencies and voluntary services.
Almost everything looks bright and new. The school, the doctor’s office, the library, the mini market and our own church. Even the apartment buildings near us have been remodeled. Not so long ago, the council excluded the garbage incineration site (the river) and built a road network leading to the new children’s hospital. It is ok. Regeneration at this level is our friend.
But there’s a dark side to this phenomenon
It seems that community life has been taken to the margins.
In all this new construction work, there seems to be little reflection on how to unite all these social groups. Aboriginal people have a strong sense of community, the arrival of the middle class brings a strong sense of materialistic individualism, and immigrants have imported a commitment to maintaining their cultural identity. Even at first, tribalism is already evident.
But do sociologists talk about regeneration as an opportunity to reinvest?In communities like Niddrie, as if it were simple, reinvest what?Construction companies are certainly getting richer. Are grants distributed to all social influence groups you can imagine?There are many here who work in our community, but are not part of it.
Niddrie, in many ways, has become a gigantic socioeconomic experience and a kind of testing ground for progressive urban policies: redesigning the place, building beloved homes, attracting young buyers for the first time, distributing social housing and securing a place for the city. growing immigrant population. Generally, all this is done at the expense (and not for the benefit, because it is often sold) of the poorest. Where are you going? That’s my question. None of our social problems are solved by regeneration here in Niddrie. They are simply diluted and, like chess pieces, problem people move around the other plateau that is the city of Edinburgh.
For example, many of the “new community” meetings I attended were conducted by strangers. Old community? In which I participated are led by people of culture. There seems to be only a real consensus or a fusion of the two worlds that the powers that are required.
Positively, the drug problem has decreased some bit (although it is still widespread). The streets seem safer, certainly cleaner. In some places, at least; on the other hand, the poorest are evicted from the houses in which they have lived for generations; many are frightened by forces out of their control, telling them to follow the change or leave. Looks like it’s just hedgehogs watching the huge social change flatner Bob Lupton agrees:
“Resisting gentrification is like trying to contain the high tide of the ocean. It certainly comes, relentlessly, with increasing power and dynamics. Young professionals and empty nests flood our cities, buying lofts in dilapidated condominiums and historic residences, opening workshops for vanguards. garden artists and gourmet restaurants. If only market forces dominate the day, the poor will be slowly and quietly displaced, because the market does not notice. But those who understand God’s heart for the poor have the historic challenge of inserting the values of compassion and justice into the process, but will it require new paradigms of ministry?
I admit, he’s talking about the American context, but I still think his argument is valid. All this government concern for urban regeneration and the “improvement” of our community does not extend to any spiritual element. The best buildings and facilities won’t make a big difference in the lives of many here, especially if the middle class sees “community investment” in purely financial terms.
If they do not invest wholeheartedly in the community, we Christians must do so. We need to do more than just get into those areas. In fact, moving worlds and funds to the community must be more than a vague “incarnate idealism,” it must be about investing globally in our community. What would it be like? Here are four suggestions.
For all the talk? In church-setting circles, we must be intentionally biblical and gospel-focused as we work on how to answer these questions that, for us, though painful, will not go away.
Editor’s note: This text was published by the author taking into account the Scottish context, but in Let’s Go to the Gospel we believe that his general teaching is also important to our context.