By Marisa Loranger, News Editor.
The city of Saginaw is seeing a comeback. New restaurants, martini bars, hair salons and music stores are popping up on street corners all over the city. Saginaw seems to be booming again, and the excitement that some feel isn’t felt by everyone.
As the city creates bigger businesses, people will start to move into the city again. Ridding neighborhoods of the abundance of abandoned homes. The city’s comeback isn’t good for all the residents. New businesses often hire people who don’t live where the business is. This continues to leave people who live around them jobless. The city’s increased revenue will also make house and rent payments more expensive. This leaves the people who live in the area unable to afford their homes.
The people who stayed in the city either because they love their city, or because they couldn’t afford to leave, are the ones being kicked out. These are the residents who stood up for their city and tried to keep positive about their neighborhoods when people were too afraid to move there. These are the people who created the Lawn Chair Film Festival and never missed a Sunday showing when others would mock their love for a city they thought was undeserving. These are the people who tried to maintain their neighborhood’s appearance when others would go out of their way not to enter “Sagnasty.”
I agree that our city needs help. We need jobs, and I am not upset about the recent businesses opening in Saginaw. They are needed, and I love seeing people finally entering the city. But when we don’t hire city natives, we are pushing people out of their city. And when those who once criticized Saginaw can take their place, there is a problem.
Gentrification is inevitable with Saginaw making a comeback, but we need to make sure those who stuck around have a fair shot of staying in their homes. Gentrification rewards those who ran away during the city’s downfall and deprives those who tried to keep their city together. Gentrification puts money before people; we put capitalism before humankind.