The gentrification of East Liberty is not ‘good for the neighborhood’
Where do you go when the place you call home is gone?
I remember less than three years ago, when I first moved to Pittsburgh for school, East Liberty looked nothing like how it does now.
Much of what is now lively city streets, with many new high end stores and restaurants, used to be quiet blocks with empty storefronts.
The upgrade first started with the main street, with Target, and many other businesses moving in quickly. The history and culture that this local community once had seems to be much less important, and it looks like it will all be gone shortly. With much of the area being torn down and rebuilt, I can barely recognize it.
Many people argue gentrification is good for inner city neighborhoods. They claim it promotes improving quality of life, and increasing safety as well as property taxes. That is not what I see at all. What I see is people literally getting pushed out of their homes.
Another project in East Liberty is being closed up, and torn down. What used to be an area to help people in need of affordable housing will soon become more expensive condos and row houses similar to these that quickly popped up across the street.
Where will all the people who once lived here go, when the neighborhood they know and call home is gone?