Socioeconomic Inequality in Detroit
While long-term resident’s fears of gentrification grow, tensions continue to bloom. In recent years, we have seen massive amounts of construction in Detroit’s downtown and midtown areas. The newest addition to the downtown Detroit area being the Little Caesar’s Arena; right down the street from Cass Technical High School . So, what does this mean for those of us who have lived here for years? As parts of Detroit are transforming, more people are moving in and housing prices are increasing. However, our employment and economy are not growing at the same rate. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Detroit’s unemployment rate is 8.4% as of April of 2017, only down .9% from 2016. Meanwhile the median house value is priced at $45,600 and has gone up by 26.7% in the last year, according to Zillow, an online real estate database company. These are factors that begin displacement – long time citizens can no longer afford the increase in housing prices and are forced to move out. At the same time, many neighborhoods in the city of Detroit aren’t getting the same improvements as Downtown. These neighborhoods face extremely harsh conditions and face obvious unequal treatment compared to others.