UNIT 2: HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD
My name‿ is Tom. I have lived‿ in the same neighbourhood for‿ eighteen years,│ and‿ I have watched‿ an‿ area that‿ everyone‿ agreed was neglected become one that‿ everyone‿ agrees‿ is desirable,│ with broadly the same residents still‿ in‿ it —│ a paradox that resolves‿ itself the momen(t) you examine the rent.
The regeneration‿ is not the objection. There‿ is‿ a renovated library,│ a new health centre‿ and‿ a rebuil(t) station,│ an(d) the amenities have‿ improved beyon(d) recognition. The difficulty is displacement:│ two family bakeries have closed,│ a coffee chain has‿ opened,│ rents have doubled,│ an(d) the young families│ who constituted the social fabric have moved to the periphery. Nobody resolved to remove them. A market did│ so,│ quietly and‿ efficiently,│ an(d) the outcome‿ is‿ a neighbourhood that‿ is measurably improved‿ an(d) socially thinner.
What survives‿ is‿ a sense‿ of belonging‿ among those‿ of‿ us│ who remained,│ which‿ is difficul(t) to convey to somebody│ who arrived three years‿ ago an(d) finds the area charming. My sister lives‿ in‿ an‿ affluen(t) suburb│ where the amenities‿ are‿ excellent‿ an(d) the congestion‿ intolerable,│ an(d) she reports that nobody speaks to anybody. Were‿ I designing‿ a neighbourhood,│ I should place‿ a civic building‿ at‿ its centre rather than‿ a car park,│ since nearly every friendship‿ I possess began‿ over‿ a shopping list. A transien(t) population will not‿ invest‿ in‿ a place‿ it does not‿ expec(t) to stay in,│ an(d) the dilution‿ of that‿ investment‿ is the true cost‿ of‿ all this‿ improvement.