Constructing an archive

Domino Sugar Factory
 - Williamsburg

(reference picture: http://abandonednyc.com/2012/05/21/inside-the-domino-sugar-refinery/



Gentrification; 

To change a place from being a poor area to a richer one, by people of a higher social class moving to live there.

Gentrification is a dynamic that emerges in poor urban areas when residential shifts, urban planning, and other phenomena affect the composition of a neighborhood. Urban gentrification often involves population migration as poor residents of a neigh- borhood are displaced. In a community undergoing gentrification, the average income increases and average family size decreases. This generally results in the displace- ment of the poorer, pre-gentrification residents, who are unable to pay increased rents, and property taxes, or afford real estate. Often old industrial buildings are converted to residences and shops. New businesses, which can afford increased commercial rent, cater to a more affluent base of consumers - further increasing the appeal to higher income migrants and decreasing the accessibility to the poor. Often, resident owners unable to pay the taxes are forced to sell their residences and move to a cheaper community.

Political action, either to promote or oppose the gentrification, is often the commu- nity's response against unintended economic eviction. However, local governments may favor gentrification because of the increased tax base associated with the new high-income residents, as well as because of other perceived benefits of moving poor people and rehabilitating deteriorated areas.