Tiffen McAlister
Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (NOFHAC)
New Orleans, LA, USA
So far, my research has gone well, albeit with some unexpected twists and turns. I’ve been administering my survey in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, the Bywater, as I had planned. However, after consulting with the policy director at NOFHAC, I’ve decided to include the Midcity neighborhood into my research as well.
Midcity serves as an interesting contrast to the Bywater in numerous regards. First, it is gentrifying as is the Bywater, although at a slower rate. And yet, it has more wealth inequality than the Bywater and is home to more New Orleans locals.
This poses interesting competing interpretations of gentrification. Relative to Midcity, the Bywater seems to be an example of gentrification as a cultural force: it is increasingly made up of artists and “creative-class” types who have recently moved to the city. Midcity, on the other hand, serves as a better example of gentrification as an economic phenomenon, since it has the highest income gap of any neighborhood in the city and is primarily made up of people from New Orleans.
Additionally, Midcity, unlike the Bywater, is a designated “security district,” meaning that a neighborhood association has petitioned the city council to levy property taxes on local homeowners to fund off-duty cops to patrol the neighborhood. This is what makes Midcity a truly excellent contrast to the Bywater.
A central question I have is why Midcity self-designated as a security district when the Bywater didn’t. The security district designation ensures a far greater private police presence in Midcity than in the Bywater. Answers I’ve gotten in both neighborhoods reflects this. Whereas Bywater residents report minimal police presence and interactions, Midcity residents are constantly aware of a police presence and reported instances of profiling.
Lastly, my research experience has taken an unexpected turns as a consequence of severe flooding. Over the summer, New Orleans has gotten 50+ inches of rain, and the season isn’t even over. Last week, as Midcity got 7 inches of rain, the city’s flood pumps broke down and are still broken. As one would imagine, this has complicated my research. Any subsequent rain threatens to flood the city again.
As it stands, though, Midcity is recovering quickly, and I’m still able to conduct my research. Restaurants, bars, and community spaces have reopened. Going forward, I think I’ll incorporate questions about flood recovery in my surveys.