SOC 4710- Advanced Qualitative Methods

Gentrification of Denver’s Five Points Neighborhood:

The Displacement of Poor and Minority Populations and the Commodification of Culture.

By Andrew Irvine5/3/2016

Abstract

Purpose: This paper will examine the gentrification process and displacement of poor and

minority populations who live in Denver’s Five Points-Curtis Park neighborhood from a conflict

perspective. The influential neoliberal approach to urban redevelopment and how this model

relates to the urban renewal project in Five Points will be considered from a critical neoliberal

approach. There will also be an examination of the social, economic, and cultural impact that

gentrification has had on Five Points and Highland neighborhoods from a critical perspective.

Methods: Non-Participant observational data collected through spending time in the field will

be analyzed. Primary sources and data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community

Survey, the Piton Foundation, the City and County of Denver, and the Denver Urban Renewal

Authority (DURA) were disseminated and analyzed.

Findings: The Welton Corridor Urban Renewal Project was facilitated using a neoliberal

redevelopment model of deregulation of city codes and zoning and tax incremental financing

assistance through the quasi-government and private business entity of DURA. Private and

public money was used to fund the project. Urban upgrading causes gentrification of urban

spaces and displacement of poor and minority members of the community. Commodification of

historic African American and Latino culture is used to attract middle-class predominantly white

groups to gentrifying urban neighborhoods by advertising the diversity and multi-culturalism of

the area, marginalizing the original culture in the process. Displacement of poor and minority

populations do not cause mass evictions, areas of relocation often are safer and have better

amenities than the previous public housing where they were living. Urban renewal is a catalyst

for economic growth, and transforms blighted neighborhoods into usable urban space that has

less crime and a culture that reflects middle-class worldviews and preferences.

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Conclusion: The neoliberal model of urban redevelopment has been transforming the cultural

and socioeconomic dynamics of inner-city neighborhoods in American cities since the 1970s.

These urban renewal projects are funded jointly by public tax dollars and private capital, with

individuals and corporations who enjoy proximity to power and access to capital acting as both

the drivers of social change and gentrifiers of urban space. The historic quality and proximity to

prime downtown locations attract city officials and developers alike to blighted inner-city

neighborhoods. The goal of urban redevelopment is to gentrify, in order to introduce the cultural

preferences of the middle-class and upper-income strata into the urban landscape.

Table of Contents

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p. 4 Introduction

p. 7 Methodologies

p. 8 Theoretical Approaches

p. 11 Literature Review

p. 12 Methods

p. 13 Data Analysis

p. 15 Discussion of Results/Findings

p. 23 Conclusion

p. 25 HSIRB and Ethical Considerations

p. 26 Afterword: Policy Recommendations & Future Research

p. 27 Indexes: Tables, Figures, Photos

p. 29 Reference Page

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Introduction

This paper will examine the gentrification process and displacement of poor and minority

populations who live in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. The gentrification process of Five

Points began five years ago with the start of a multimillion dollar urban renewal and

redevelopment project in the neighborhood implemented by the City and County of Denver and

Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA). Furthermore, this paper will study the

socioeconomic and cultural impact that gentrification has had on Five Points using the

redevelopment of Denver’s Highland neighborhood as a comparative model. This project will

examine two target populations most vulnerable to urban redevelopment projects, the low-

income and minority groups—primarily focusing on the incumbent African American and Latino

populations who live in Five Points and Highland neighborhoods. Finally, this paper will

consider the net benefits and costs of urban redevelopment projects and gentrification of inner-

city neighborhoods.

For more than a quarter century tracing back to the economic and political crises of the

1970s there has been a trend in cities across the United States of economic and social

restructuring, of what is called urban upgrading in the form of a collaborative tax payer funded

city planned and private interest funded redevelopment projects of inner-city neighborhoods.

This urban upgrading of impoverished minority populated neighborhoods leads to the process

gentrification and changes the socioeconomic, racial, and cultural landscape of the urban space

into wealthier upper-income zones. “A great deal of recent attention in urban studies makes the

connection between the neoliberal turn and these disparate, but coherent, trends in urban

restructuring” (Fairbanks and Lloyd, 2011, 4). The links between the neoliberal approach to

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urban renewal projects, gentrification, and poor and minority displacement will be examined

throughout this paper.

In order to fully comprehend the analysis and findings presented in this study, key terms

need to be clearly defined. Population displacement will be defined as the involuntary migration

or movement of low-income and minority groups from an urban area or neighborhood within the

same city, or another population area within the same state or across state lines. The term lower

socioeconomic group or poor and impoverished will be defined as anyone within the urban areas

being studied who live at or below the poverty line (federally set as an annual family income of

$15,000 or less) and have limited access to basic resources such as housing, food, education, and

transportation. Minority groups will be defined as anyone who lives within the urban settings

being evaluated that are members of a minority group, e.g. African Americans, Latinos, Asians,

or Native American populations. However, this paper will primarily focus on the Black and

Latino populations that live in the neighborhoods being examined. The concept of gentrification

will be defined as the process of upgrading or redeveloping an inner-city neighborhood to

economically revitalize the geographical space displacing low-income occupants in order to

change the racial and socioeconomic make-up of the area.

The rational of this paper is to study the gentrification process of Five Points that began

with a multimillion dollar urban renewal project and the displacement of low-income and

minority groups living in the neighborhood; furthermore, to examine the socioeconomic and

cultural transformation gentrification has set in motion in the neighborhood. The first section of

this paper will focus on the Welton Corridor Urban Redevelopment Plan, the neoliberal

redevelopment model being used, what the plan entails, and the sources of funding for the

project utilizing a critical neoliberal approach. The Second section will be an ethnography of

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neighborhoods (Five Points and Highland), and examine the cultural impact of gentrification

utilizing a critical theoretical framework. This portion will use Denver’s Highland neighborhood

as a comparative model to Five Points and examine the commodification of African American

and Latino culture and tie in the concepts of culture industry and technological rationality to

explain the cultural changes in both neighborhoods. The third section will examine the process

of gentrification in Five Points, and investigate displacement of low-income minority groups

from a conflict perspective. The final section will consider whether urban upgrading and

gentrification is beneficial or detrimental to neighborhoods, cities, and society as a whole. An

examination of the City and County of Denver’s displacement assistance program using

information found on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority website will also be considered. The

paper will close with a brief overview of this project’s findings, advance some policy

recommendations and give recommendations for future research.

Location and History of Five Points

Five Points is one of Denver’s oldest and historically significant neighborhoods, its

establishment dates back to the 1860s. Five Points is located directly northeast of Downtown

Denver and the Central Business District. “Its boundaries include Park Avenue West and 20th

Street on the South, Blake Street on the West/Northwest, and Downing Street on the East”

(Tsuchiya, 2013, 2). The name Five Points refers to the five point intersection in the

neighborhood where Welton Street, Downing Street, 27th Avenue, 26th Avenue, and Washington

Street come together and intersect. Five Points was a prominent neighborhood for Denver’s elite

citizens from the 1860’s until the beginning of the 20th century when Denver’s aristocracy moved

to the newly established Capitol Hill neighborhood. Starting in the early 1900s Denver’s African

American population was segregated to the Five Points neighborhood, and by the 1920s the

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majority of neighborhoods population was black. At this time Five Points became known as the

“Harlem of the West” with a vibrant business district and Jazz scene centered on Welton Street

(also called the Welton Corridor), known as the “heart” of the neighborhood (see photos 1-4). In

the 1950s Five Points began to decline as crime, drugs, gangs, urban flight, and property

abandonment became a major problem and local businesses began leaving as the area became an

unsafe ghetto. For the last sixty years Five Points continued to be crime ridden, economically

depressed, and began structurally deteriorating from neglect. According to Tsuchiya, “The

neighborhood now sits in relative shambles, as private developers generally shy away from

investments in the area due to deterioration, poorly planned/zoned lots and unsafe working

conditions” (2013, 4). The neighborhoods situation only began to change with the demolition of

the Welton Street public housing project in 2008 and the implementation of the Welton Corridor

Urban Redevelopment Plan that was finalized in 2012 after numerous failed efforts to start

redevelopment dating back to 2007.

Methodologies

Throughout the process of data collection, the epistemological paradigm of positivism

was the framework for this research. Data was collected using mixed methods involving both

qualitative and quantitative data. The process of producing observable, objective data and social

facts about the cultural and demographic make-up of Five Points to analyze was the goal.

During the research process I disseminated and evaluated data in an attempt to find patterns in

demographic and socioeconomic descriptive statistics, and identify patterns in the shifts of

culture taking place in Five Points from gentrification using the redevelopment of Denver’s

Highland neighborhood as a comparative model.

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The topic of this paper requires that I study poor and minority populations living in areas

of the neighborhood that are derelict as well as examine ongoing racial tension and conflict that

can occur in communities that are in the process of gentrification. The process of gentrification

is very disruptive to incumbent residents of the neighborhood, especially lower

socioeconomically positioned and minority populations. As I conduct research it’s important to

be sensitive to the fact that the population of people I am researching are experiencing the

pressures of living in a neighborhood that is becoming more expensive as wealthier members of

the city move into the neighborhood.

This research will present some challenges due to my background and how I fit into the

community I am studying. This paper involves research of poor and minority populations, and I

am not a member of any of the social class and racial groups I am studying. I grew up in the

suburb of Littleton, Colorado, in a middle-class home. The neighborhood I was raised in was

predominately white and middle-class. As I gather non-participant observational data, it will be

important to remain aware of the biases I may have due to my Caucasian middle-class

upbringing. However, I do have over ten years of experience working with poor and lower

socioeconomic classes as well as minority populations as a paramedic. Through the experience

of my work as a paramedic I have seen first-hand the daily challenges people face when living in

poor and minority neighborhoods in Denver.

Theoretical Approaches

This research project will utilize three different theoretical perspectives as an analytical

framework for evaluating data and presenting the findings. These perspectives include conflict

theory influenced by Max Weber’s concepts, a critical neoliberal approach influenced by David

Harvey’s ideas, and critical theory utilizing the Frankfurt schools Theodor Adorno and Herbert

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Marcuse’s theoretical ideas. Although these theoretical approaches are distinct from one another,

they can coherently be used together as an analytical framework because these perspectives

encompass a common theoretical orientation—a collectivist-rational orientation. Furthermore,

all three approaches share the same theoretical assumption, that the upper-class wealthy elite

who have access to capital and proximity to political power are the economic and cultural drivers

behind the social change taking place in inner-city neighborhoods subject to multimillion dollar

urban redevelopment projects and gentrification.

Specific Theories and Theorists Applied

This paper will draw from Weber’s theoretical ideas on power, class, status, and parties,

derived from, “The Distribution of Power Within the Political Community: Class, Status, and

Party.” (Appelrouth and Edles, 2012). Weber defines power as, ‘The chances of man or of a

number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others”

(Appelrouth and Edles, 2012, 159). In Five Points, powerful private interests, for example real

estate developers backed by the city of Denver buy low-income housing which displaces the

occupants who resist but have no real political or economic influence. The developer then

demolishes the low-income apartments and builds upper-income mixed housing in its place.

Weber states that “Parties reside in the sphere of power. Their action is oriented toward the

acquisition of social power, that is to say, toward influencing social action no matter what its

content may be” (Appelrouth and Edles, 2012, 167). The goal of the Welton Corridor Urban

Redevelopment Plan is to use the power and capital of the city of Denver and moneyed private

interests to change the cultural and socioeconomic dynamics of Five Points from a historically

low-income African American neighborhood to a gentrified upper middle-class area. Thus,

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Weber’s concepts of class, status, and parties” is an appropriate analytical framework from

which to work from.

Max Weber (1864-1920) is a core classical sociological theorist, and his theoretical

orientation falls into the collectivist-rational. Weber is known for expanding on Marx’s

theoretical concepts and ideas, and adding more complexity to conflict theory. Weber argues

that power is connected to economic classes, status groups, and proximity to political power

(Appelrouth and Edles, 2012: 159).

The critical neoliberal theoretical approach is rooted in political and economic ideas.

David Harvey’s critical theories of neoliberalism will be the analytical framework for portions of

this paper. Harvey notes, “Neoliberalism is a theory of political economic practices proposing

that human well-being can best be advanced by the maximization of entrepreneurial freedoms

within an institutional framework characterized by private property rights, individual liberty,

unencumbered markets, and free trade” (2007, 22). This theoretical framework is appropriate for

this analysis because the Five Points and Highland neighborhoods large urban renewal projects

were implemented using a neoliberal redevelopment model that uses private property rights, city

zoning deregulation, and unencumbered free markets to enact social change.

This paper will apply the Frankfurt school of critical theory as an analytical framework.

Theodor Adorno’s concepts of culture industry and pseudo-individualization and Herbert

Marcuse’s concept of technological rationality will be an analytical tool used to examine the

social and cultural changes taking place in the face of gentrification in Five Points and Highland.

Defined by Appelrouth and Edles, Culture industry “encompasses all those sectors involved in

the creation and distribution of mass-culture products” (2012, 386). Pseudo-individualization is

connected to the standardization of products and allows, as Adorno describes “cultural mass

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production with the halo of free choice or open market on the basis of standardization itself”

(1941, 25). Technical rationality is a systematic and “scientific approach to all human affairs…

While this form of reason has led to unprecedented material gain, under its sway individuals are

stripped of their individuality, not by external compulsion, but by the very rationality under

which they live” (Appelrouth and Edles, 2012, 384). Hence, Critical theory is an appropriate

analytical framework because its central concepts will be used to examine the commodification

of culture, gentrification, and “diversity” as a pseudo-individualized marketing tool.

Literature Review

The national trend of large inner-city neighborhood urban redevelopment projects that are

jointly funded by public tax dollars and private interest money has interested scholars of urban

studies for the last twenty years. These expensive urban renewal projects are facilitated through

city administrations deregulating rigid zoning codes, changing traffic right of way and parking

laws to provide more retail parking, and issuing tax incremental financing (TIF) on public

projects and redeveloped property in an effort to minimize the use of tax dollars and tap into free

market forces to privately fund large portions of these projects. “In practice, city administrations

adopt some form of ‘lean[er] government’ with short-term forms of interspatial competition,

place marketing, regulatory undercutting, and privatization, creating conditions to accelerate

external investment” (Koehler, 2014, 18.) These methods of deregulation, place marketing, and

privatization constitute a neoliberal approach to urban redevelopment, and this has become the

standard model nationwide that cities and municipalities employ to undertake these urban

renewal projects. Harvey wrote about the ideological origins of neoliberalism and notes, “The

founding figures of neoliberal thought took political ideals of individual liberty and freedom as

sacrosanct—as the central values of civilization…without ‘the diffused power and initiative

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associated with (private property and the competitive market) it is difficult to imagine a society

in which freedom may be effectively preserved” (2007, 24). The quarter of a century trend of

the state adopting a neoliberal approach to urban redevelopment is a thoroughly studied topic in

academia. A plethora of literature exists on this topic, and this paper relies on the data produced

in these studies to produce findings of the transformations taking place in Five Points. Thus, the

influence of the neoliberal redevelopment model on Denver’s city administrators overseeing the

Welton corridor redevelopment project and the Highland renewal project is very important.

The phenomenon of urban neighborhood gentrification frequently alters the racial and

economic class dynamics of urban landscapes. Gentrification through urban renewal projects

has been a primary goal of Denver’s city government administrators since the 1990s, and has

been heavily studied by scholars. Denver’s urban transformation is an often cited example of

gentrification through urban revitalization projects. A substantial amount of current literature

exists on the topic of urban gentrification. The official city produced Five Points urban

redevelopment plan, and the neighborhood’s blight and deterioration report were used to study

Denver’s neoliberal urban redevelopment approach, and its gentrifying impact on urban spaces.

Methods

A. Qualitative Methods1. Visual Data

Historical photographs of Denver’s Five Points-Curtis Park neighborhood were obtained

through the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library’s archived collection. Blair-

Caldwell library is located on Welton Street in the Five Points neighborhood. Other visual data

include personal photographs taken while walking the neighborhood, and show how the area

currently looks today.

2. Non-Participant Observation

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Non-participant observational data was collected by spending time walking the

neighborhood, walking along Welton Street—the “heart” of Five Points where many of the

infamous jazz clubs, restaurants, and the historic Rossonian Hotel built in 1912 and currently

undergoing renovation as part of the Welton Corridor Urban Renewal Project is located. Other

observations include visits to the local coffee shop, the Blair-Caldwell library and construction

sites where urban renewal projects are underway.

3. Demographic Data

Demographic data is an important piece of the research plan. Meso-level neighborhood

demographic data of Five Points obtained by the U.S. Census Bureau will be collected for the

years 2000 and 2010. For more recent data, demographics of Five Points collected by the

American Community Survey for the years 2010-2014 will be obtained. This neighborhood

level data was found on the City and County of Denver’s website under open public records.

4. Economic DataEconomic data will be collected to measure if there has been any significant change in

the socioeconomic dynamics of Five Points. Neighborhood level U.S. Census data found on the

website of the City and County of Denver’s open public records page will be collected for the

years 2000 and 2010. American Community Survey neighborhood data will also be used for

more recent economic data for the years 2010-2014. Average household income, percent living

in poverty, the number of homeowner’s verses renters will be some the comparison perimeters

analyzed.

Data Analysis

A. Qualitative Analysis

Throughout the process of on-the-ground research collecting non-participant

observational data noting the rhythm, cultural atmosphere, social interactions, and demographic

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observations were recorded. Observed details like whether young professionals were spotted in

the neighborhood signaling gentrification, the racial make-up of pedestrians walking down

Welton Street, and whether women were present walking dogs or jogging in the neighborhood

that could indicate how safe residents of the neighborhood feel were noted and recorded. This

data was then compared to the fifteen year span of U.S. Census and American Community

Survey demographic data in order see if what was seen visually matched the descriptive

statistics; and then further gage how these observations correlate to the amount of gentrification

and cultural change taking place in Five Points.

B. Quantitative Data

A comparative analysis of U.S. Census and American Community Survey demographic

and economic data spanning the years 2000-2014 was undertaken. The percentage of African

American, White, and Hispanic populations living in Five Points from the years 200-2014 were

compared to see if there was a significant change in the racial make-up of Five Points. If a major

shift in the racial composition of the neighborhood occurred this would signal the advancement

of gentrification and a substantial change in the culture of the neighborhood. These findings

were also compared to the observational data collected. A fourteen year comparison of the

average age and educational achievement of Five Points residents will be examined to determine

whether young professionals have been moving into the neighborhood. Significant changes in

racial composition and age of neighborhood residents can be an indication of an accelerating

gentrification process.

A comparative analysis of economic data was also undertaken using U.S. Census and

American Community Survey data of the neighborhood spanning a fourteen year period.

Average household income, average family income, and percent in poverty will be analyzed in

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order to identify whether significant changes in socioeconomic dynamics of Five Points

occurred. Gentrifying neighborhoods frequently exhibit a pattern of young professionals,

middle-class and upper-income groups moving into these areas.

Discussion of Results/Findings

Five Points Urban Renewal Project and the Neoliberal Redevelopment Model

The Five Points neighborhood urban renewal campaign is officially called the Welton

Corridor Urban Redevelopment Project, named after Welton Street, where the neighborhoods

central business district is located, and hence the focal point of redevelopment. The project was

adopted by the Denver City Council on September 10, 2012. The project is being spearheaded

by the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA)—a quasi-city government and private

business entity and the Denver City Counsel. The Denver Urban Renewal Authority was

established by the City and County of Denver in 1958, and its purpose is to assist in

redevelopment of blighted property and provide financial assistance for urban renewal projects.

“Working with the City, Denver residents, businesses, civic leaders, area developers, and

financing institutions, DURA provides financial assistance to support redevelopment and

rehabilitation activities throughout the city” (DURA, 2016). DURA’s function is to recruit

developers to invest in blighted properties and redevelopment projects the city fosters by offering

tax incentives and favorable financing that the agency negotiates with the city of Denver. Thus,

these urban renewal projects become both privately and publicly funded. The city’s urban

renewal model is a classic example of neoliberal urban redevelopment.

An affordable 223 unit apartment complex costing $43.5 million to build, located at 2300

Welton Street was the first approved Welton Corridor project and the first to receive TIF

assistance. “Of the 223 apartments, 212 are designated for renters earning 60% of the area

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median income and the remaining11 units are designated for renters earning 30% of the area

median income’ (DURA, 2016). DURA is participating in $769,000 to the project. 2400

Welton Street is a $20.8 million project “Redevelopment of vacant land into a mixed used

project consisting of 82 apartment homes, 14 townhomes, and 3,500 square feet of ground floor

commercial space. 18 of the 82 apartments are designated for renters earning 80% or less of the

area median income. DURA is contributing $1,350,000 to the project. The redevelopment of a

5,000 square foot historic 120+ year old two story brick building into collaborative office space

and ground floor retail/restaurant space at 2801 Welton Street is also underway. This project is

receiving TIF assistance in the form of property taxes and sales taxes, and DURA is contributing

$350,000. DURA is involved in the restoration of the historic Rossonian Hotel; this project is

still in the planning stages.

Ethnography of Neighborhoods: Cultural Impact of Gentrification on Five Points and Highlands

As I walked down Welton Street, at the heart of Five Points Central Business District,

there are clear visual signs of accelerated gentrification taking place (See Fig. 1). The first thing

that is noticeable is the amount of construction taking place. At the intersection of 23rd Street

and Welton Street, the entire block on 23rd street is blocked off to traffic and all the structures

have been torn down (see Fig. 3). This is the site of the most expensive Welton Corridor project,

the $43.5 million 223 unit apartment complex. I also notice the presence of young professionals

and young women and men outside walking their dogs along Welton Street. As you walk east on

Welton Street towards 29th and 30th Streets and the Five Points intersection the decades of

deterioration and blight becomes apparent on the facades of many businesses, many of these

shops are vacant and covered in gang related graffiti. However, the historic character and culture

of the neighborhood is still visible, and it is easy to imagine what the neighborhood looked like

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when it was referred to as “the Harlem of the West.” On Welton Street between 27th and 28th

Streets is Cervantes’s concert hall a former jazz hotspot, adorned on the outside of the building

are historic photos of Five Points from the 1920s through the 1950s showcasing the jazz history

and African American heritage of the neighborhood (See Fig. 3). Along Welton Street I also

spotted many soul food restaurants that have been operating in the neighborhood for decades. I

detoured north on 30th Street and found the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center

on 30th Street and California Street, which was a reminder of the rich history African Americans

associate with the neighborhood (See Fig. 3).

I then turned and went north on 29th street into the residential area of the neighborhood,

gentrification again became apparent with the mix of old and new structures lining the block.

From 29th street I walked west on Curtis Street heading toward downtown Denver and newly

erected modern homes and row houses were interspersed among dilapidated and blighted homes

—many of which were vacant. Interestingly, I found a Montessori school located on 27th Street

and Curtis Street in an old renovated public elementary school signifying in-movers to the

neighborhood are changing the socioeconomic dynamics to an upper income area. As I walked

north on 27th Street toward what was the industrial area of Five Points I found new breweries and

restaurants along Walnut Street and Larimer Street (See Fig 3). First Draft Tap Room, Our

Mutual Friends Brewery, Altitude Brewery, and there is a new winery on Walnut Street called

Mile High Winery. These new business and restaurants have transformed the old industrial area

into an upper-class entertainment area. Langagger described a similar transformation that took

place in Highland neighborhood noting, “As gentrification advanced these public spaces became

more comfortable more of the time for predominately white, middle-class and secular

newcomers. At home in Highland, newcomers work to reproduce their cultural norms in public

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space” (2015, 3). From walking the neighborhood and observing the area it appears the same

gentrification phenomenon is occurring in Five Points. Demographic and economic data will

help clarify what kind of racial, cultural, and socioeconomic changes are occurring.

Data from the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census and the American Community Survey (ACS)

from the years 2010-2014 presents a clear picture of the demographic and socioeconomic

changes that rapidly occurred within Five Points. In 2000, 27.41% of the neighborhood

population was white compared to 25.44% black and 42.88% Hispanic (U.S. Census Bureau

2000). In 2010, a significant demographic shift occurred with the percentage of whites

increasing to 56.95% of the population, while the black and Hispanic population shrank to

15.23% and 22.52% respectively (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). The Caucasian population of Five

Points continued to increase, as of 2014 61.18% of the neighborhood was Caucasian while

16.55% were African American and 18.18% of the population identified as Hispanic (American

Community Survey). The comparative analysis shows a 33.77% increase in the white population

of Five Points from the years 2000-2014, indicated a particularly rapid acceleration of

gentrification between the years 2000-2010. The African American population of neighborhood

shrank 8.89% in a fourteen year period while the Hispanic population shrank 24.70% during the

same time. The data also indicates a substantial increase in the number of college graduates

moving into the area; 316 college graduates were reported in the 2000 U.S. Census to live in

Five Points, while 5,759 college educated residents were reported in the 2014 ACS. Clearly, a

dramatic reordering of the neighborhood demographics has shifted the urban space into a white

college educated majority. Next, this paper will examine whether the socioeconomic dynamics

of Five Points-Curtis Park dramatically changed as well.

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The average household income of Five Points in 2000 was $36,311 per year with a 31.5%

poverty rate (U.S Census Bureau). In 2014, the average household income was $73,343 per

year, and the poverty rate stood at 26.37% respectively (American Community Survey 2014).

The economic data of 2014 lies in stark contrast to the data collected in 2000, the neighborhood

has transformed into a middle-class area. The non-participant observations and demographic and

economic data presents a picture of the gentrification process of Five Points-Curtis Park

neighborhood that began accelerating around 2010 and this transformation has greatly impacted

the cultural dynamics of the neighborhood. The gentrifying effects on the culture of Highland

neighborhood will be used as a comparative model of the cultural changes taking place in Five

Points.

Highland is a neighborhood just northwest of Downtown Denver immediately west of I-

25 with Speer Boulevard running through the middle of the neighborhood. The area was the

focal point of a neoliberal private/public urban renewal project overseen by DURA that began in

the late 1990s. Prior to gentrification, Highland was a predominantly poor working-class Latino

neighborhood. The redevelopment project is now complete, and transformed the culture of the

neighbor and thus, a good comparison to the cultural changes happening in Five Points-Curtis

Park. Langegger notes about the cultural changes in Highland, “The symbolic economy of

middle-class, consumption-based ethos apparent in this temporal reading of liquor license

hearing transcripts illuminates how rhetoric came to privilege urban vibe, eclectic mix and

diversity as a profitable community asset over the ethnic diversity of the neighborhood” (2015,

10). This phenomenon of Adorno’s culture industry—the commodification of historic Latino

culture in Highland to attract middle-class newcomers to the neighborhood by using rhetoric like

diversity, and eclectic mix as an amenity to be sold marginalizes the original Latino culture of

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the area for upper-income cultural preferences. Five Points is an example of technological

rationality and culture industry at work by using the allure of entertainment and the areas historic

buildings and black culture as drivers of gentrification. “With an interest in diversity and

culture, inmovers hope to recapture a sense of urban history and community. City officials and

developers caught onto this trend and began restoring historic structures and attempting to create

urban communities” (Keohler, 2014, 20). Rent prices tend to increase in communities where city

officials and developers discuss investing money in the disinvested areas. The re-appropriated

uses of Five Points-Curtis Park’s old industrial warehouses on Walnut Street and Larimer Street

into “hip” new restaurants, breweries, and wineries illustrates how urban landscape can be

“reconfigured in terms of an urbane symbolic economy rooted in white middle-class

worldviews” (Langegger, 2015, 12). Hence, it cannot be assumed that everyone in the

neighborhood will feel the benefits of private/public reinvestment in the community.

Gentrification Induced Displacement of Minority and Low-Income Residents of Five Points and Local Displacement Mitigation Efforts

Gentrification from urban renewal projects tend to cause housing prices to inflate and

rental rates to rise which can drive low-income and minority members of the community out.

Increasingly, cities are demolishing “public housing, in some cases as part of multimillion dollar

redevelopment projects” (Goetz, 2011,1581). One of the public housing projects in Five Points

near the Five Points intersection was demolished in 2008. While another public housing

complex at the intersection of California Street and Downing Street was spared demolition. The

demolition and removal of public housing projects in core city neighborhoods are done to

facilitate development of mixed housing communities. “The transformation of public housing, in

fact, reflects several dimensions of neo-liberal urban policy in the US over the past 20 years…the

removal of concentrations of very-low income people of colour allows a reimaging of urban

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spaces critical to the national and international competition for private investment” (Goetz, 2011,

1582). In Five Points, the removal of the poorest of the poor has encouraged private investment

in new mixed housing projects. It is important to emphasize that a small portion of the

population in the neighborhood have been forcibly displaced by the demolition of housing

projects. Many low-income and minority residents have left due to the economic pressures of

gentrification.

This projects research has found that many individuals, families, and businesses

displaced by the Welton Corridor Urban Renewal Project in Five Points have been placed in

other public housing projects and business locations within the city of Denver. “The Authority

(DURA) shall assist all persons, families and business concerns displaced by Project activities in

finding other locations and facilities and may make relocation payments to eligible residents and

business concerns in such amounts and under such terms and conditions as may be determined

by the Authority in accordance with a relocation plan or plans adopted by the Authority”

(DURA, 2012, 24). The City and County of Denver has adopted a progressive displacement

mitigation plan that other cities are studying, and in many cases adopting. The remainders of the

residents who have moved from Five Points-Curtis Park due to gentrifying social or economic

pressure have moved to other low-income neighborhoods within central Denver, or moved to

Aurora where rental rates are the cheapest in the Metro-Denver area.

The Societal Benefits and Costs of Neoliberal Urban Redevelopment Projects

Large urban renewal projects of core city neighborhoods work as a catalyst for economic

growth, and attract suburbanites to either relocate or visit the new upscale urban spaces.

Blighted neighborhoods that suffered from high crime rates and disinvested economies are

repurposed into useable urban landscapes where citizens feel safe to walk the business districts

21

and eat at the new restaurants and enjoy the entertainment the economically revitalized

neighborhoods have to offer. In Five Points-Curtis Park over $65.8 million dollars of

private/public money has been invested into the neighborhood as part of the Welton Corridor

Urban Renewal Project, bringing primarily service industry jobs, young adults and middle-class

families into the area. Crime rates in Five Points have fallen, no homicides have been reported

in the area from January-March 2016, reported rapes are down 16.7%, and robberies are down

21.4% for the same time period this year (City and County of Denver 2016, see tables). Hence,

the redevelopment project in Five Points has led to economic growth in the area, decreased

crime, brought new jobs and middle-class individuals and families into the neighborhood, and

has changed the culture of the area to reflect middle-class preferences.

It is important to consider that not everyone in neighborhoods that are gentrifying benefit

from the changes. African Americans who have made Five Points their home before

gentrification have witnessed the historic black culture of the area become increasingly

marginalized and commodified as an amenity of diversity for predominantly white newcomers.

The loss of one’s cultural identity in a neighborhood can have negative effects on that group’s

well-being. The urban renewal campaign in Five Points has led to one public housing complex

to be shut down and demolished and led to gentrification induced displacement of poor and

predominately African American incumbent residents who have left area after feeling economic

and social pressure. However, as Billingham noted, “Overblown rhetoric from both camps aside,

it is fairly well established that the increased cost of living that accompanies gentrification leads

some lower income residents of gentrifying neighborhoods, who would otherwise have desired

to stay put, to relocate to more affordable areas. However, dire predictions of mass evictions and

colonial-style conquest of poor neighborhoods by the new bourgeoisie do not reflect the way that

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displacement usually works” (2015, 92). The city of Denver has a relocation assistance program

for displaced individuals, families and businesses affected by the city’s urban renewal projects.

Many cities across the nation have begun to implement similar displacement mitigation programs

as part of their urban renewal plans. Studies have shown that poor and minority individuals and

families displaced by gentrification do often times benefit by relocating to neighborhoods that

have less crime and better public schools. “The benefits of being moved away from public

housing communities subject to demolition are strongest in residents’ perception of reduced

crime in their new communities and in their increased satisfaction with the quality of their

housing post-move. Improvements in housing and neighborhood characteristics are also

consistently reported by displaced public housing families” (Goetz, 2011, 1585). Hence,

research has shown that multimillion dollar redevelopment projects rarely lead to mass evictions

and displacement of poor and minority populations. The individuals and families who are at the

extreme end of poverty living in public housing are usually the ones forcibly displaced.

However, those who are displaced due to social and economic pressures relocate to other

neighborhoods that are less crime ridden and have improved standards of living.

Conclusion

The neoliberal approach to urban planning and redevelopment has been transforming the

cultural and socioeconomic dynamics of inner-city neighborhoods in American cities since the

1970s, and Denver is a prime example of this phenomenon. Urban renewal projects are

gentrifying once poor and minority areas into chic mixed housing, retail, and entertainment

zones that attract middle-class families and young adults who are predominantly white to these

areas to move into or visit. The historical culture of these neighborhoods—whether it’s African

American or Latino culture are commodified and turned into marketing buzzwords that advertise

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the areas “diversity” or multi-cultural characteristics marginalizing the historic cultural in favor

of middle-class preferences. Other rhetoric like “hip” and “urban vibe” are used by real estate

agents and developers to appeal to the newcomers sense of pseudo-individualization. Historic

buildings in these gentrifying communities are renovated and showcased as symbols for the

culture industry to attract young professionals, creative types, and middle-class families to the

retail stores and other entertainment offered in the neighborhood. Five Points Central Business

District has become the focal point of the Welton Corridor Urban Redevelopment project, using

private/publicly funded neoliberal methods to encourage new business in the form of restaurants,

breweries, and wineries using technological rationality to ignite economic growth that primarily

produces new service industry jobs. While at the same time, older residents of these

communities, many who are poor, African American or Latino, try to resist their displacement

and the marginalization of their culture and the changing economics of the area but lack the

proximity to power and the capital to influence government and market forces at work

gentrifying their neighborhoods.

However, this paper has shown that it is also important to consider the benefits of

multimillion dollar urban renewal projects and the gentrification of inner-city neighborhoods.

Redevelopment acts as a catalyst for economic growth that benefits a large portion of the

population. Neighborhoods that became blighted slums with high crime rates and a disinvested

economy are repurposed into upscale areas with lower crime rates and transformed into usable

urban landscapes where citizens can feel safe to enjoy the shopping and entertainment the area

offers. Poor and minority residents often times are displaced due the demolition of public

housing economic and social pressure, however the City and County of Denver has a displaced

assistance program to has proven effective at relocating individuals, families, and businesses

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affected by urban renewal projects. Furthermore, those who have relocated from gentrifying

neighborhoods find their new communities to be safer and provide improvements to their

standard of living.

The trend of expensive neoliberal urban redevelopment projects can be found throughout

the cities and urban centers of the United States and have been the subject of many studies.

Harvey notes that it is important to ask the question, “In whose particular interest is it that the

state take a neoliberal stance, and in what ways have those interests used neoliberalism to benefit

themselves rather than, as is claimed, everyone, everywhere” (2007, 24)? This paper has made

an effort to answer that question. These urban renewal projects are funded jointly by public tax

dollars and private capital, with individuals and corporations who enjoy proximity to power and

access to capital acting as both the drivers of social change and gentrifiers of urban space. The

historic quality and proximity to prime downtown locations attract city officials and developers

alike to blighted inner-city neighborhoods. The goal of urban redevelopment is to gentrify, in

order to introduce the cultural preferences of the middle-class and upper-income strata into the

urban landscape.

HSIRB and Ethical Considerations

During this project, I made an effort when collecting non-participant observational data

to be as unobtrusive to the members of the community of Five Points as possible. Participant

protection and confidentiality were not an issue because I did not interview any subjects or ask

members of the community any culturally or financially sensitive questions. Ethically, I was

concerned about accurately documenting the conditions of the neighborhood both culturally and

economically. This paper does accurately reflect the cultural and socioeconomic dynamics of the

Neighborhoods I researched and visited.

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Afterword: Policy Recommendations and Future Research

The City and County of Denver has a displacement assistance program that is overseen

by the Denver Urban Renewal Authority. The program has been successful at relocating the

poor and African American and Latino individuals and families who have been displaced due to

urban renewal projects that are taking place around the poorest neighborhoods of Denver. I

recommend that the City and County of Denver and DURA work with other city governments

across the country that do not have displacement mitigation programs as part of their urban

renewal projects in order to help facilitate the implementation of a similar assistance program.

Urban revitalization can be very beneficial for economies of U.S. cities; however, it is important

that programs are in place to assist poor and minority members of communities experiencing

gentrification to mitigate the adverse effect of rising rental rates and housing inflation that can

occur in a gentrifying neighborhood.

The topic of neoliberal urban redevelopment and gentrification of urban areas has

interested urban studies scholars for thirty-five years. As I continued to read the literature and

research my topic I was surprised to find that the neoliberal approach to government is so wide

spread and influential in the United States. However, there is a need for further research on the

future of neoliberalism, and whether the neoliberal approach to urban redevelopment will

continue to be the model cities and municipalities use to facilitate and fund urban renewal

projects.

Index: Figures, Tables, Photos

Index i: Maps of Five Points and Highland

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Fig. 1: Boundaries of Five Points-Curtis Park

Fig 2: Boundaries of Five Points-Curtis Park

Fig 3: The Streets of Five Points-Curtis Park

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Fig. 4: Map of Highland Neighborhood

Percentage of Five Points Population in the year 2000

27.41

25.44

42.88

Percentage of Population in 2000

WhiteBlackHispanic

Fig. 5: Percentage of Population Living in Five Points in 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau 2000)

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Percentage of Five Points Population in the Year 2010

56.9515.23

22.52

Percentage of Population in 2010

WhiteBlackHispanic

Fig. 6: Percentage of Population Living in Five Points in 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau 2010)

Percentage of Five Points Population in 2014

61.18

16.55

18.18

Percentage of Population in 2014

WhiteBlackHispanic

Fig. 7: Percentage of Population Living in Five Points in 2014 (American Community Survey 2014)

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Average House Hold and Family Income in Five Points in 2000 and 2014

Average Houshold Income Per Year Average Family Income Per Year$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$90,000

$100,000

35,518 36,311

73,343

93,376

20002014

Fig. 8: Average House Hold and Family Income (U.S. Census Bureau 2000, and American Community Survey 2014)

Percentage of Five Points Homeowners by Race in 2014

68.57

5.12

24.99

Percentage of Homeowners by Race

WhiteBlackLatino

Fig. 9: Percentage of Five Points Homeowners by Race (Piton Foundation 2014)

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Index ii: Tables

31

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