stream of consciousness:
living in chicago, there are pretty parts and there are ugly parts. take for instance the uptown neighborhood. it's a blend of beautiful, pre-existing homes and business buildings that are, unfortunately, surrounded by poverty. and not only poverty, but violence, drugs, gangs, etc. and, on a smaller scale, with all of that comes loitering, trash, vandalism, destruction, and slow-moving, poorly funded maintenance and upkeep.
so let's gentrify the area. uptown is bringing in a super target that will hopefully foster more business for other businesses. with more business comes more revenue - tighter security, new streets, landscaping, public works, etc. the poor people that used to live in the area will be slowly pushed out due to increasing rents, new construction, gut rehabs, etc.
to not seem totally insensitive the city will build or establish a few section 8 housing developments to give the less fortunate a means to live and be stable amid a thriving and opportunistic area.
to me, that makes sense.
but at the same time i now come across as completely ignorant of the poor and homeless. as if we can just keep pushing them out, keep disregarding their needs by qualifying my own. i'm not, i just don't know what to do with them. nobody does. do i want to see homeless people sleeping on sidewalks and benches, begging for money, talking crazily as they wander down the street? no, of course not. but what do you do with them? what do you do with the establishments that are so poorly maintained and managed because they are overtaken by poor people? those type of establishments bring vandalism and violence to an area that is trying to rid itself of such setbacks. it's not only an eyesore but it's a safety issue.
while i know it's not easy to see, it is more importantly not something we can overlook. we're all people here.
the state has a dwindling budget to provide any sort of housing, food, or medical aid for the poor and homeless.
so what do we do? what do you do with the people who don't have the resources to do anything positive? what do you do with the people you want to make better, but can't?
i have no idea.
