The city of Long Beach was once considered the “Iowa by the sea” due to its sleepy town feel, but it has since veered far from that as it has become the seventh most populous city in California.
A city once ranked among the most affordable places to live in on the west coast is now considered to be more expensive to buy a house in than San Francisco; so what has happened to the local population that was here before Long Beach’s urban renewal?
Many native Long Beachians have been left feeling culturally displaced. Increased development has made the city feel unrecognizable creating a sense of unfamiliarity in a city they are supposed to call home. That is, if they are even able to afford to stay here.
In 2021, RealtyHop reported that nearly two-thirds of a Long Beachian’s earnings go towards monthly mortgage payments and taxes on the average priced home in the city making it the top five most expensive places to buy a house in the United States.
A city once littered with panaderias, local diners, and pho houses built by the hands of immigrants and refugees who settled in Long Beach looking to build their American dream is disappearing as new vegan coffee shops and over-priced boutiques spawn on every corner along with luxury apartment buildings that have forever changed the skyline.
In an interview done by KCRW, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia stated, “A lot of people today are scared of more people, but the future is that cities that aren’t growing and adapting and creating space for young professionals to live and work are dying,” Garcia said. “And cities of the future are growing. They’re planning for growth.”
In order to create an environment that allows for young professionals to live and flourish in a growing city, it would make sense to prioritize the youth who are the future of the city. This does not seem to be the case at hand, however, since 25.2 % of high school students in Long Beach are below the poverty line, according to welfareinfo.org.
Local businesses that have been here for years are having a hard time staying open as rent prices sky rocket and the “Silver Tsunami” takes hold.
The “Silver Tsunami” refers to the mass retirement of boomer business owners which has caused a small business closure crisis across the U.S.
Project-equity.org reported that about 85% of these business owners have no succession plan for their business and only 20% of small businesses end up getting sold. As for family owned businesses, business owners hope to pass on their legacy to the next generation, but the chances of this actually happening are slim.
The reality is that only 15% of family businesses end up getting passed on to the next generation, as the next generation usually ends up having different interests than their parents.
Unfortunately, many of these small businesses end up getting bought out by outside investors.
It is imperative that these small businesses stay alive in order to fuel Long Beach’s local economy. There are over 2,500 businesses in Long Beach that have been here for more than 20 years and they account for $12.3 billion of Long Beach’s revenue.
Fighting gentrification is a communal effort and cannot be done alone. While gentrification is inevitable as society progresses and expands, it is important to try and limit the harm it does to local existing communities. Especially lower income ones, like Long Beach, where 16.8 % of the population are considered below the poverty line, which is higher than the national average.
Gentrification’s harmful effects on local communities is unstoppable unless the government prioritizes the entirety of the city’s populations, rather than just those with deep pockets. Citizens need to fight for bills to be passed that help combat gentrification, that includes advocating for initiatives to increase public housing and enact rent control.