Gentrification ‘Without the Negative’ in Columbus, Ohio

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Photo via 400 West Rich

Analysis: This video’s title was click-bait and it worked for me. It is an optimistic look at gentrification and has sparked my interest to investigate Franklinton further. 400 West Rich is definitely a powerful resource in the Columbus community for artists and has drawn a lot of tourism. Franklinton is the new “spot” being gentrified in town, so it was useful to look at this video (published in 2014) to see the beginnings of this ongoing wave of revitalization. The phrase “we are settlers here” was ironic in my opinion, especially when compared to literature that argues that gentrification is colonialism. In the video, Jim Sweeney mentions that there was a lot of vacant property in Franklinton due to floods that happened decades prior, so revitalizing the area wasn’t harmful.