The Great Divide is a series that focuses on the gentrification within the two cities, Oak Cliff, Texas and Boyle Heights, California. Gentrification is defined as “the process of rebuilding homes and businesses in a deteriorating area (such as an urban neighborhood) accompanied by an influx of middle-class or wealthy people and that often results in the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents” – Merriam Webster.
Higher rates of gentrification can be found in minority groups such as those of Hispanic/Latino origin. Oak Cliff and Boyle Heights are primary examples as the displacement of lower income Hispanic families continues. In Oak Cliff, you can find million-dollar homes just across the street from low income homes and apartments and the divide of race and ethnicities within these sectors. Boyle Heights is home to over seventy-four thousand Hispanic people, making them 94.5% of the city’s population, yet they still are meet with the urban colonization of gentrification.
This series draws inspiration from contemporary artist Giovanni Valderas and historical artist Robert Rauschenberg. The Great Divide acts as a roadmap and a representational viewing of gentrified neighborhoods losing their ability to compete and gaining a higher cost of living.
The basis of gentrification may sound like a harmless notion at first, but when higher rental rates, property tax, and mortgages become a prominent outcome it forces people of lower income to relocate or struggle with a new financial burden. Gentrification harms the most vulnerable, and it may not seem like it when you’re drinking your $7.99 latte from your ‘new favorite coffee shop’.