Misplaced Pages

#53946

118-495: Neartown has many of Houston's oldest neighborhoods. The Neartown Association began in 1963. Houston's urban real estate boom starting in the 1990s transformed Neartown and significantly increased property values. The City of Houston's Planning Department refers to Neartown as a mixed-use community. Since the 1990s gentrification , musicians and artists are being replaced with higher paid professionals (attorneys, educators, medical professionals) due to higher rents. Montrose has "wound

236-425: A Starbucks , and (c) my neighbors and I can no longer afford to live here ( community displacement )". Palen & London (1984) compiled five explanations for gentrification since the 1970s: Other explanations propose that as people tire of the automobile-dependent urban sprawl style of life, they move to urban areas, in particular to homes near public transit stations. The increase in professional jobs in

354-516: A June 2018 governmental reorganization plan, the Donald Trump administration proposed turning USPS into "a private postal operator" which could save costs through measures like delivering mail fewer days per week, or delivering to central locations instead of door to door. There was strong bipartisan opposition to the idea in Congress. In April 2020, Congress approved a $ 10 billion loan from

472-943: A board member its new parent, XPO Logistics , whose postal contracts expanded during DeJoy's postmaster general role—was a major donor and fundraiser for the Republican Party (from 2017, a deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee , until appointed postmaster general, and later million-dollar donor to the 2020 Trump campaign while postmaster general). DeJoy immediately began taking measures to reduce costs, such as banning overtime and extra trips to deliver mail. While DeJoy admitted that these measures were causing delays in mail delivery , he said they would eventually improve service. More than 600 high-speed mail sorting machines were scheduled to be dismantled and removed from postal facilities, raising concerns that mailed ballots for

590-662: A district it goes on rapidly, until all or most of the original working-class occupiers are displaced and the whole social character of the district is changed. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Health Effects of Gentrification defines the real estate concept of gentrification as "the transformation of neighborhoods from low value to high value." A real estate encyclopedia defines gentrification as "the process by which central urban neighborhoods that have undergone disinvestments and economic decline experience

708-519: A drop in the number of children per household, increased education among residents, the number of non-traditional types of households, and a general upwards shift in income. Just as critical to the gentrification process as creating a favorable environment is the availability of the 'gentry,' or those who will be first-stage gentrifiers. The typical gentrifiers are affluent and have professional-level, service industry jobs, many of which involve self-employment . Therefore, they are willing and able to take

826-633: A high number of packages, and an electric delivery vehicle produced in partnership with Canoo that is a "pod-like" smaller van. The Department of Defense and the USPS jointly operate a postal system to deliver mail for the military ; this is known as the Army Post Office (for Army and Air Force postal facilities) and the Fleet Post Office (for Navy , Marine Corps , and Coast Guard postal facilities). In fiscal year 2022,

944-522: A higher likelihood of eviction." A 2020 study which followed children from low-income families in New York found no evidence that gentrification was associated with changes in mobility rates. The study also found "that children who start out in a gentrifying area experience larger improvements in some aspects of their residential environment than their counterparts who start out in persistently low-socioeconomic status areas." A 2023 study by economists at

1062-415: A neighborhood, changing the essential character and flavour of that neighborhood", so distinguishing it from the different socio-economic process of "neighborhood (or urban) revitalization", although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Gentrification has been described as a natural cycle: the well-to-do prefer to live in the newest housing stock. Each decade of a city's growth, a new ring of housing

1180-457: A new campus. Gregory-Lincoln opened in 1966 and its current facility opened in 2007. Before the start of the 2009–2010 school year J. Will Jones, which formerly served a section of Neartown, was consolidated into Blackshear Elementary School, a campus in the Third Ward . During its final year of enrollment J. Will Jones had more students than Blackshear. Previously Ryan Middle School served

1298-461: A plan to close about 3,700 small post offices. Various representatives in Congress protested, and the Senate passed a bill that would have kept open all post offices farther than 10 miles (16 km) from the next office. In May 2012, the service announced it had modified its plan. Instead, rural post offices would remain open with reduced retail hours (some as little as two hours per day) unless there

SECTION 10

#1732780013054

1416-416: A process "in which members of the 'new middle class' move into and physically and culturally reshape working-class inner city neighbourhoods". Kennedy & Leonard (2001) say in their Brookings Institution report that "the term 'gentrification' is both imprecise and quite politically charged", suggesting its redefinition as "the process by which higher income households displace lower income residents of

1534-538: A return to the inner city but is more of a positive action to remain there. The stereotypical gentrifiers also have shared consumer preferences and favor a largely consumerist culture. This fuels the rapid expansion of trendy restaurant, shopping, and entertainment spheres that often accompany the gentrification process. Holcomb and Beauregard described these groups as those who are "attracted by low prices and toleration of an unconventional lifestyle". An interesting find from research on those who participate and initiate

1652-683: A reversal, reinvestment, and the in-migration of a well-off middle- and upper-middle-class population." Scholars and pundits have applied a variety of definitions to gentrification since 1964, some oriented around gentrifiers, others oriented around the displaced, and some a combination of both. The first category include the Hackworth (2002) definition "the production of space for progressively more affluent users". The second category include Kasman's definition "the reduction of residential and retail space affordable to low-income residents". The final category includes Rose, who describes gentrification as

1770-655: A segment of Neartown. In March 2013 the HISD board voted to close Ryan Middle School and move all students into the zone of Cullen Middle School. The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts moved to Downtown Houston in 2019. Neartown is home to the Annunciation Orthodox School (a K-8 private school) and The Harris School . The Kinkaid School was located in the Neartown area until 1957 when

1888-413: A social rise that brings new standards in consumption, particularly in the form of excess and superfluity, to the area that were not held by the pre-existing residents. These differing norms can lead to conflict, which potentially serves to divide changing communities. Often this comes at a larger social cost to the original residents of the gentrified area whose displacement is met with little concern from

2006-555: A state-by-state analysis concluded that 76% of Americans were eligible to vote by mail in 2020, a record number. The analysis predicted that 80 million ballots could be cast by mail in 2020 – more than double the number in 2016. The Postal Service sent letters to 46 states in July 2020, warning that the service might not be able to meet each state's deadlines for requesting and casting last-minute absentee ballots. The House of Representatives voted to include an emergency grant of $ 25 billion to

2124-531: A suburban setting. Ley's research cites a quote from a Vancouver printmaker talking about the importance of inner city life to an artist, that it has, "energy, intensity, hard to specify but hard to do without". United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service ( USPS ), also known as the Post Office , U.S. Mail , or simply the Postal Service , is an independent agency of

2242-539: A tortuous course from Silk Stocking and Low Rent and back again." In 1997 Katherine Feser of the Houston Chronicle stated that "Montrose [is] not for starving artists anymore". On June 6, 2006, a teenage MS-13 gang member named Gabriel Granillo was stabbed to death at Ervan Chew Park. The River Oaks Shopping Center , Houston's first shopping center, is located in Neartown, east of River Oaks . Constructed in 1927 and designed by architect Hugh Prather ,

2360-532: A typical 1970s term with more visibility in public discourse than actual migration. A 2017 study found that gentrification leads to job gains overall, with job losses in proximate locations but job gains further away. A 2014 study found that gentrification led to job gains in the gentrifying neighborhood. A 2016 study found that residents who stay in gentrifying neighborhoods go on to obtain higher credit scores whereas residents who leave gentrifying neighborhoods obtain lower credit scores. "School gentrification"

2478-722: Is Rodney Ellis . The community is located within Texas's 7th congressional district . Since redistricting effective for the 2012 election, Neartown has been redrawn into the Texas 2nd Congressional District, served by Ted Poe. The United States Postal Service operates two post offices, the University Post Office at 1319 Richmond Avenue and the River Oaks Station Post Office at 1900 West Gray Street, in Neartown. The headquarters of Baker Hughes

SECTION 20

#1732780013054

2596-417: Is a combined community effort to win historic district designation for the neighborhood, a phenomenon that is often linked to gentrification activity. Gentry can exert a peer influence on neighbors to take action against crime, which can lead to even more price increases in changing neighborhoods when crime rates drop and optimism for the area's future climbs. Some argue that gentrification is associated with

2714-673: Is at 4100 Montrose Boulevard. The Houston Chronicle is the area regional newspaper. The River Oaks Examiner is a local newspaper distributed in the community [2] . Legacy Community Health Services [3] and Montrose Counseling Center [4] are located in Neartown. In 2006 the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center was moved from the Houston Department of Health and Human Services to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. It became

2832-411: Is built. When the housing at the center has reached the end of its useful life and becomes cheap, the well-to-do gentrify the neighborhood. The push outward from the city center continues as the housing in each ring reaches the end of its economic life. They observe that gentrification has three interpretations: (a) "great, the value of my house is going up, (b) coffee is more expensive, now that we have

2950-641: Is characterized by: (i) increased numbers of middle-class families; (ii) material and physical upgrades (e.g. new programs, educational resources, and infrastructural improvements); (iii) forms of exclusion and/or the marginalization of low-income students and families (e.g. in both enrollment and social relations); and (iv) changes in school culture and climate (e.g. traditions, expectations, and social dynamics). A 2024 study found that adding high-density mixed-income developments to low-income neighborhoods in London, United Kingdom, led to improved educational outcomes for

3068-877: Is commonly referenced as a negative aspect of gentrification by its opponents. A 2022 study found evidence that gentrification leads to greater residential mobility. In the United States, a 2023 study by Princeton University sociologists found that "eviction rates decreased more in gentrifying neighborhoods than in comparable low-income neighborhoods." A 2016 study found "that vulnerable residents, those with low credit scores and without mortgages, are generally no more likely to move from gentrifying neighborhoods compared with their counterparts in nongentrifying neighborhoods." A 2017 study by sociology professor Matthew Desmond , who runs Princeton University's Eviction Lab, "found no evidence that renters residing in gentrifying or in racially- and economically-integrated neighborhoods had

3186-896: Is home to the University of Saint Thomas . Neartown is also close to Rice University , The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , the University of Houston , Texas Southern University , Houston Community College Central, and University of Houston–Downtown . Pupils in Neartown are in the Houston Independent School District . Neartown is divided among Trustee District IV, represented by Paula M. Harris as of 2008, Trustee District V, represented by Dianne Johnson as of 2008, and Trustee District VIII, represented by Diana Dávila as of 2008. Baker Montessori School (formerly Wilson Montessori School, in Neartown), Gregory-Lincoln Education Center (in

3304-722: Is in the America Tower at the American General Center Service Corporation International has its headquarters in Neartown. On July 1, 1983 Continental Airlines 's headquarters were located at the America Tower in Neartown, and would remain there until the relocation to Continental Center I in Downtown Houston , announced by the airline in 1997, that occurred in stages in 1998 and 1999. Neartown

3422-410: Is little evidence for more long-term impacts and that gentrification in some cases widens crime-related disparities. Displacement is often seen as a key effect of gentrification, although evidence is mixed as to whether gentrification leads to displacement (or even reduces displacement) and under which circumstances. In 2005, USA Today claimed that gentrification is a "boost for everyone" based on

3540-758: Is more likely when there is an undersupply of housing and rising home values in a metropolitan area. The gentrification process is typically the result of increasing attraction to an area by people with higher incomes spilling over from neighboring cities, towns, or neighborhoods. Further steps are increased investments in a community and the related infrastructure by real estate development businesses, local government, or community activists and resulting economic development , increased attraction of business, and lower crime rates. Historians say that gentrification took place in ancient Rome and in Roman Britain , where large villas were replacing small shops by

3658-460: Is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been used to describe a wide array of phenomena, sometimes in a pejorative connotation. Gentrification is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning . Gentrification often increases the economic value of a neighborhood, but can be controversial due to changing demographic composition and potential displacement of incumbent residents. Gentrification

Neartown Houston - Misplaced Pages Continue

3776-413: Is now being delivered in two days instead of one. Large commercial mailers can still have first-class mail delivered overnight if delivered directly to a processing center in the early morning, though as of 2014 this represented only 11% of first-class mail. Unsorted first-class mail will continue to be delivered anywhere in the contiguous United States within three days. In July 2011, the USPS announced

3894-497: Is projected to raise approximately $ 50 million per year. (Shipping alcoholic beverages is currently illegal under 18 U.S.C.   § 1716 (f).) In 2014, the Postal Service was requesting reforms to workers' compensation, moving from a pension to defined contribution retirement savings plan, and paying senior retiree health care costs out of Medicare funds, as is done for private-sector workers. As part of

4012-404: Is scheduled to move into the former High School for the Performing and Visual Arts building. For a period, Montrose Elementary School was in Neartown. Southmore Elementary School opened in 1921, Wilson in 1925, Lanier in 1926, Poe in 1928, and Wharton in 1929. Southmore was renamed MacGregor Elementary School in 1930 and Lamar opened in 1937. Ryan opened in 1958 after Yates High School moved to

4130-465: Is the peak period for the Postal Service, representing a total volume of 11.7 billion packages and pieces of mail during this time in 2022. The USPS operates one of the largest civilian vehicle fleets in the world, with over 235,000 vehicles as of 2024, the majority of which are the distinctive and unique Chevrolet / Grumman LLV (long-life vehicle), and the similar, newer Ford-Utilimaster FFV ( flexible-fuel vehicle ), originally also referred to as

4248-419: Is thought to be a method to promote health equity. Whether gentrification has occurred in a census tract in an urban area in the United States during a particular 10-year period between censuses can be determined by a method used in a study by Governing : If the census tract in a central city had 500 or more residents and at the time of the baseline census had median household income and median home value in

4366-588: Is within the Houston Police Department 's Central Patrol Division, headquartered at 61 Riesner. The Neartown Storefront Station is located at 802 Westheimer. The City of Houston purchased the building used for the storefront with federal community development funds. By September 20, 1990, the Neartown Business Alliance spent around $ 4,000 per year to maintain the storefront. Houston Fire Department Fire Station 16 serves

4484-503: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 forgave the previous $ 10 billion loan. Voting by mail has become an increasingly common practice in the United States, with 25% of voters nationwide mailing their ballots in 2016 and 2018. The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 was predicted to cause a large increase in mail voting because of the possible danger of congregating at polling places. For the 2020 election,

4602-784: The Environmental Protection Agency and an environmental lawsuit, and also due to availability of new funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 . The Act included $ 3 billion for electric USPS vehicles, supporting the initiative by Postmaster General DeJoy and the Biden Administration to add 66,000 electric vehicles to the fleet by 2028. The electric fleet will be composed of 9,250 EVs manufactured by Ford ; 11,750 commercial off-the-shelf EVs; and 45,000 Oshkosh Next Generation Delivery Vehicles . In February 2023,

4720-707: The Fourth Ward ), MacGregor Elementary School, Poe Elementary School (in Boulevard Oaks ), and Wharton Elementary School (in Neartown) serve separate sections of Neartown. Pupils in Neartown reside within the boundaries of three middle-school attendance areas. Lanier Middle School (in Neartown), Cullen Middle School, and Gregory-Lincoln Education Center serve separate sections of Neartown. All Neartown area pupils are zoned to Lamar High School in Upper Kirby . In Fall 2019 Arabic Immersion Magnet School

4838-624: The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA) was contacted for its input on the USPS's current study of the effect of five-day delivery along with developing an implementation plan for a five-day service plan. A team of Postal Service headquarters executives and staff was given a time frame of sixty days to complete the study. The current concept examines the effect of five-day delivery with no business or collections on Saturday, with Post Offices with current Saturday hours remaining open. On Thursday, April 15, 2010,

Neartown Houston - Misplaced Pages Continue

4956-472: The November 3 election might not reach election offices on time. Mail collection boxes were removed from the streets in many cities; after photos of boxes being removed were spread on social media, a postal service spokesman said they were being moved to higher traffic areas but that the removals would stop until after the election. The inspector general for the postal service opened an investigation into

5074-621: The River Oaks Theatre , an " arthouse " theater, located in the center. The theater is the last historic movie theater in Houston that is still being used as it was originally designed. Neartown was described in 1973 as "old buildings ranging all the way from Victorian Epic to Ramshackle Plywood." Neartown has European-style restaurants and sidewalk cafés along five blocks of Westheimer with many housed in renovated pre- World War I houses. The Neartown neighborhood along Van Buren Street

5192-414: The $ 30 billion delivery budget; door-to-door city delivery costs annually on average $ 353 per stop, curbside $ 224, and cluster box $ 160 (and for rural delivery, $ 278, $ 176, and $ 126, respectively). S.1486, also with the support of Postmaster General Donahoe, would also allow the USPS to ship alcohol in compliance with state law, from manufacturers to recipients with ID to show they are over 21. This

5310-509: The 2010s. In 2012, in order to be able to meet obligations for payroll and continuing its operations, the Postal Service defaulted on payments due for retirements benefits in August and again in September that year. In September 2014, it defaulted on the payments for the fourth time, and continued to default into 2017. The Postal Service sought financial reforms from Congress for relief from

5428-520: The 3rd century, AD. The word gentrification derives from gentry —which comes from the Old French word genterise , "of gentle birth" (14th century) and "people of gentle birth" (16th century). In England, landed gentry denoted the social class, consisting of gentlemen (and gentlewomen, as they were at that time known). British sociologist Ruth Glass was first to use "gentrification" in its current sense. She used it in 1964 to describe

5546-510: The American Postal Workers Union's arguments that these counters should be staffed by postal employees who earn far more and have "a generous package of health and retirement benefits". On January 28, 2009, Postmaster General John E. Potter testified before the Senate that, if the Postal Service could not readjust its payment toward the contractually funding earned employee retiree health benefits, as mandated by

5664-744: The CRV (carrier route vehicle). The LLVs were built from 1987 to 1994 and lack air conditioning, airbags, anti-lock brakes, and space for the large modern volume of e-commerce packages, the Grumman fleet ended its expected 24-year lifespan in fiscal year 2017. The LLV replacement process began in 2015, and after numerous delays, a $ 6 billion contract was awarded in February 2021 to Oshkosh Defense to finalize design and produce 165,000 vehicles over 10 years. The Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV), will have both gasoline and battery electric versions. Half of

5782-588: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing to examine the status of the Postal Service and recent reports on short and long-term strategies for the financial viability and stability of the USPS entitled "Continuing to Deliver: An Examination of the Postal Service's Current Financial Crisis and its Future Viability". At which, PMG Potter testified that by 2020, the USPS cumulative losses could exceed $ 238 billion, and that mail volume could drop 15 percent from 2009. In February 2013,

5900-610: The House and the Senate; President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on April 6, 2022. Congress has limited rate increases for First-Class Mail to the cost of inflation, unless approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission . A three-cent surcharge above inflation increased the 1 oz (28 g) rate to 49¢ in January 2014, but this was approved by the commission for two years only. As of July 14th, 2024

6018-719: The Neartown Office at 1413 Westheimer Road . A portion of Neartown is located in District 134 of the Texas House of Representatives . As of 2010, Sarah Davis represents District 134. A portion of Neartown is located in District 147 of the Texas House of Representatives . As of 2008, Garnet F. Coleman represents the district. Neartown is located in District 13 of the Texas Senate . As of 2008 its representative

SECTION 50

#1732780013054

6136-479: The November election. He said he would reinstate overtime hours, roll back service reductions, and halt the removal of mail-sorting machines and collection boxes. However, 95 percent of the mail sorting machines that were planned for removal had already been removed, and according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , DeJoy said he has no intention of replacing them or the mail collection boxes. On December 27, 2020,

6254-676: The Post Office Department, during the Cold War, to redesign stamps to include more patriotic slogans. On March 18, 1970, postal workers in New York City—upset over low wages and poor working conditions, and emboldened by the Civil Rights Movement— organized a strike . The strike initially involved postal workers in only New York City, but it eventually gained support of over 210,000 postal workers across

6372-486: The Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act of 2006, the USPS would be forced to consider cutting delivery to five days per week during June, July, and August. H.R. 22, addressing this issue, passed the House of Representatives and Senate and was signed into law on September 30, 2009. However, Postmaster General Potter continued to advance plans to eliminate Saturday mail delivery. On June 10, 2009,

6490-645: The Postal Service announced its purchase of the Ford EVs as well as 14,000 electric vehicle charging stations. The fleet electrification plan is part of the Postal Service's initiative to reduce carbon emissions from fuel and electricity 40 percent and emissions from contracted services 20 percent by 2030. In August 2024, the USPS deployed the first new vehicles from its fleet modernization project at its Topeka Sorting and Delivery Center in Kansas, including: an electric vehicle with higher clearance for routes delivering

6608-557: The Postal Service contribution to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Most other employees that contribute to the CSRS have 7% deducted from their wages. Currently, all new employees contribute into Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) once they become a full-time regular employees. Running low on cash, in order to continue operations unaffected and continue to meet payroll, the USPS defaulted for

6726-480: The Postal Service had $ 78.81 billion in revenue and expenses of $ 79.74 billion. Due to one-time appropriations authorized by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 , the agency reported a net income of $ 56.04 billion. In the 2023 fiscal, revenue had increased to $ 79.32 billion, but reported a net loss of $ 6.48 billion. In 2016, the USPS had its fifth straight annual operating loss, in

6844-533: The Postal Service to offer some non-mail services. As of 2023, the Postal Service operates 33,641 Post Office and contract locations in the U.S., and delivered a total of 127.3 billion packages and pieces of mail to 164.9 million delivery points in fiscal year 2022. USPS delivers mail and packages Monday through Saturday as required by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 ; on Sundays only Priority Express and packages for Amazon.com are delivered. The USPS delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities. During

6962-577: The Treasury to the post office. According to The Washington Post , officials under Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested using the loan as leverage to give the Treasury Department more influence on USPS operations, including making them raise their charges for package deliveries, a change long sought by President Trump. In May 2020, in a controversial move, the Board of Governors of

7080-486: The U.S. Postal Service, and took effect on July 1, 1971. Among the changes from the Postal Reorganization Act, a key aspect was the requirement for the USPS to be self-financing, which introduced a conflict with its other requirement to provide a nationwide service. The next major legislation affecting the service, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, was passed in 2006. This act limited

7198-497: The U.S. and operates under a universal service obligation (USO), both of which are defined across a broad set of legal mandates, which obligate it to provide uniform price and quality across the entirety of its service area. The Post Office has exclusive access to letter boxes marked "U.S. Mail" and personal letterboxes in the U.S., but has to compete against private package delivery services, such as United Parcel Service , FedEx , and DHL . The first national postal agency in

SECTION 60

#1732780013054

7316-908: The US, known as the United States Post Office was founded by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 26, 1775, at the beginning of the American Revolution . Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general ; he also served a similar position for the American colonies. The Post Office Department was created in 1792 with the passage of the Postal Service Act . The appointment of local postmasters

7434-586: The USPS announced that in order to save about $ 2 billion per year, Saturday delivery service would be discontinued except for packages, mail-order medicines, Priority Mail, Express Mail, and mail delivered to Post Office boxes, beginning August 10, 2013. However, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 , passed in March, reversed the cuts to Saturday delivery. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) obligated

7552-402: The USPS operated 673 facilities. ) As of May 2012, the plan was to start the first round of consolidation in summer 2012, pause from September to December, and begin a second round in February 2014; 80% of first-class mail would still be delivered overnight through the end of 2013. New delivery standards were issued in January 2015, and the majority of single-piece (not presorted) first-class mail

7670-526: The USPS to fund the present value of earned retirement obligations (essentially past promises which have not yet come due) within a ten-year time span. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the main bureaucratic organization responsible for the human resources aspect of many federal agencies and their employees. The PAEA created the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund (PSRHB) after Congress removed

7788-496: The United States Postal Service appointed Louis DeJoy , the first postmaster general in the last two decades who did not emerge from the postal bureaucracy. Instead he had three decades of experience in the private delivery sector where he created a new national corporation with 80,000 employees. DeJoy—until 2014 CEO of New Breed Logistics (a controversial Postal Service contractor), and until 2018

7906-580: The W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that the construction of new large apartment buildings in low-income neighborhoods lead to an influx of high-income households but also decrease rents in nearby units by increasing housing supply. Many of the social effects of gentrification have been based on extensive theories about how socioeconomic status of an individual's neighborhood will shape one's behavior and future. These studies have prompted "social mix policies" to be widely adopted by governments to promote

8024-618: The West Gray Adaptive Recreation Center. Ervan Chew Park, a fenced-in, approximately 9,000-square-foot (840 m) park, is located at 4502 Dunlavy Street. The park (originally Herbert D. Dunlavy Park) was acquired by the City of Houston in 1945. In February 2000 the park was renamed for Ervan Chew, a Chinese-American Eagle Scout who grew up in the area and won the Silver Beaver Award , which

8142-494: The amount of $ 5.6 billion, of which $ 5.8 billion was the accrual of unpaid mandatory retiree health payments. First-class mail volume peaked in 2001 to 103.65 billion declining to 52.62 billion by 2020 due to the increasing use of email and the World Wide Web for correspondence and business transactions. Private courier services, such as FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS), directly compete with USPS for

8260-632: The area. The fire station is in Fire District 6. The station opened at the intersection of Westheimer Road and Yupon in 1928. The station moved to the intersection of Richmond and Dunlavy in 1979. City Council District D covers Neartown. As of 2008 Wanda Adams represents the district. Since the City of Houston Redistricting of 2011, Neartown has been represented in Council by Ellen Cohen in District C. Harris County Precinct One, as of 2008 headed by El Franco Lee, serves Neartown. The county operates

8378-447: The artists' case. Their cultural emancipation from the bourgeois makes the central city an appealing alternative that distances them from the conformity and mundaneness attributed to suburban life. They are quintessential city people, and the city is often a functional choice as well, for city life has advantages that include connections to customers and a closer proximity to a downtown art scene, all of which are more likely to be limited in

8496-407: The bottom 40th percentile and at the time of the next 10-year census the tract's educational attainment (percentage of residents over age 25 with a bachelor's degree) was in the top 33rd percentile; the median home value, adjusted for inflation, had increased; and the percentage of increase in home values in the tract was in the top 33rd percentile when compared to the increase in other census tracts in

8614-423: The center, originally known as River Oaks Community Center, was one of the nation's first automobile-oriented retail centers . Its design, with arcs of retail space on either side of West Gray Avenue, was considered a model for future development. Portions of the historic shopping center were demolished in September 2007 to redevelop the site for bookstore and a parking garage. As of 2008, Landmark Theatres operates

8732-436: The central business district has increased demand for living in urban areas according to Ley (1980) . Critical geographers have argued that capital flows and developers have been instrumental in causing gentrification. The de-industrialization of cities in developed nations may have caused displacement by reducing the number of blue-collar jobs available to the urban working class and middle-class. Some have argued that

8850-417: The changed perception of the central city that is encouraged by gentrification can be healthy for resource-deprived communities who have previously been largely ignored. Gentrifiers provide the political effectiveness needed to draw more government funding towards physical and social area improvements, while improving the overall quality of life by providing a larger tax base. Communities have strong ties to

8968-419: The changing norms that accompany gentrification translate to a changing social hierarchy. The process of gentrification mixes people of different socioeconomic strata, thereby congregating a variety of expectations and social norms. The change gentrification brings in class distinction also has been shown to contribute to residential polarization by income, education, household composition, and race. It conveys

9086-571: The children who were already living in the neighborhood. The plausible mechanism for this effect is that incumbent students were exposed to more high-ability students. In Chicago, among neighborhood public schools located in areas that did undergo gentrification, one study found that schools experience no aggregate academic benefit from the socioeconomic changes occurring around them, despite improvements in other public services such street repair, sanitation, policing, and firefighting. The lack of gentrification-related benefits to schools may be related to

9204-485: The cost of postage increased to 73 cents for first class mail. Comprehensive reform packages considered in the 113th Congress include S.1486 and H.R.2748. These include the efficiency measure, supported by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe of ending door-to-door delivery of mail for some or most of the 35 million addresses that currently receive it, replacing that with either curbside boxes or nearby "cluster boxes". This would save $ 4.5 billion per year out of

9322-435: The counterculture movement in the 1960s created disdain for the "standardization of look-alike suburbs", prompting people to live in urban areas. Others argue that a desire to live near cultural attractions prompts gentrification. According to a 2020 systematic review of existing research, gentrification in the United States has led to a short-term reduction in crime in gentrifying neighborhoods. However, it noted that there

9440-501: The decline of distinctive local businesses and the rise of chains and franchises. Rehabilitation movements have been largely successful at restoring the plentiful supply of old and deteriorated housing that is readily available in inner cities. This rehabilitation can be seen as a superior alternative to expansion, for the location of the central city offers an intact infrastructure that should be taken advantage of: streets, public transportation, and other urban facilities. Furthermore,

9558-461: The delivery of packages. Lower volume means lower revenues to support the fixed commitment to deliver to every address once a day, six days a week. According to an official report on November 15, 2012, the U.S. Postal Service lost $ 15.9 billion its 2012 fiscal year. In response, the USPS has increased productivity each year from 2000 to 2007, through increased automation, route re-optimization, and facility consolidation. Despite these efforts,

9676-417: The demand has grown. Additionally, Darren P. Smith finds through his research that college-educated workers moving into the urban areas causes them to settle there and raise children, which eventually contributes to the cost of education in regards to the migration between urban and suburban places. Women increasingly obtaining higher education as well as higher paying jobs has increased their participation in

9794-529: The dog zone, which was dedicated in May 2004. See also: List of companies in Houston See: List of colleges and universities in Houston [REDACTED] Category [REDACTED] Texas portal Gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the " gentry ") and investment. There

9912-410: The easiest access to roadside mailboxes. Some rural letter carriers use personal vehicles. All contractors use personal vehicles. Standard postal-owned vehicles do not have license plates . These vehicles are identified by a seven-digit number displayed on the front and rear. Starting in 2026, all delivery truck purchases are scheduled to be electric vehicles , partly in response to criticism from

10030-490: The efficiency of commodities parents need by minimizing time constraints among multiple jobs, childcare, and markets. Phillip Clay's two-stage model of gentrification places artists as prototypical stage one or "marginal" gentrifiers. The National Endowment for the Arts did a study that linked the proportion of employed artists to the rate of inner city gentrification across a number of U.S. cities. Artists will typically accept

10148-551: The executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, its insular areas and associated states . It is one of a few government agencies explicitly authorized by the Constitution of the United States . As of 2023, the USPS has 525,469 career employees and 114,623 non-career employees. The USPS has a monopoly on traditional letter delivery within

10266-506: The finding that white gentrifiers often do not enroll their children in local neighborhood public schools. Programs and policies designed to attract gentrifying families to historically disinvested schools may have unintended negative consequences, including an unbalanced landscape of influence wherein the voices and priorities of more affluent parents are privileged over those of lower-income families. In addition, rising enrollment of higher-income families in neighborhood schools can result in

10384-412: The first time on a $ 5.5 billion retirement benefits payment due August 1, 2012, and a $ 5.6 billion payment due September 30, 2012. On September 30, 2014, the USPS failed to make a $ 5.7 billion payment on this debt, the fourth such default. In 2017, the USPS defaulted on some of the last lump-sum payments required by the 2006 law, though other payments were also still required. Proposals to cancel

10502-401: The four weeks preceding Christmas since 2013, packages from all mail classes and senders were delivered on Sunday in some areas. Parcels are also delivered on holidays, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The USPS started delivering Priority Mail Express packages on Christmas Day in select locations for an additional fee. The holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas

10620-595: The funding obligation and debt from the defaults. Legislation was introduced in Congress in 2016 as well as in 2019, aiming to remove the benefits funding obligations, however no new legislation was passed until the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA). The PSRA was signed into law in April 2022. It forgave $ 57 billion in Postal Service debt and released it from the obligation to set aside funds for future retirees' healthcare, as well as adding requirements for delivery timing and reporting on performance metrics, and allowing

10738-418: The funding obligation and plan a new schedule for the debt were introduced in Congress as early as 2016. A 2019 bill entitled the "USPS Fairness Act", which would have eliminated the pension funding obligation, passed the House but did not proceed further. As of March 8, 2022, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 , which includes a section entitled "USPS Fairness Act" cancelling the obligation, has passed both

10856-464: The gentrification process, the "marginal gentrifiers" as referred to by Tim Butler, is that they become marginalized by the expansion of the process. Research shows how one reason wealthy, upper-class individuals and families hold some responsibility in the causation of gentrification is due to their social mobility. Wealthier families were more likely to have more financial freedom to move into urban areas, oftentimes choosing to do so for their work. At

10974-488: The gentry or the government. Clashes that result in increased police surveillance, for example, would more adversely affect young minorities who are also more likely to be the original residents of the area. There is also evidence to support that gentrification can strengthen and stabilize when there is a consensus about a community's objectives. Gentrifiers with an organized presence in deteriorated neighborhoods can demand and receive better resources. A characteristic example

11092-467: The history and culture of their neighborhood, and causing its dispersal can have detrimental costs. The economic changes that occur as a community goes through gentrification are often favorable for local governments. Affluent gentrifiers expand the local tax base as well as support local shops and businesses, a large part of why the process is frequently alluded to in urban policies. The decrease in vacancy rates and increase in property value that accompany

11210-550: The impact of some recent studies and that displacement that arises is minimal, or caused by other factors. Some scholars have disputed these assertions, arguing that such studies distort facts and used limited datasets. In 2002, economist Jacob Vigdor wrote, "Overall, existing literature has failed to convincingly demonstrate that rates of involuntary displacement are higher in gentrifying neighborhoods." A 2018 study found evidence that gentrification displaces renters, but not homeowners. The displacement of low-income rental residents

11328-523: The influx of middle-class people displacing lower-class worker residents in urban neighborhoods; her example was London , and its working-class districts such as Islington : One by one, many of the working class neighbourhoods of London have been invaded by the middle-classes—upper and lower. Shabby, modest mews and cottages—two rooms up and two down—have been taken over, when their leases have expired, and have become elegant, expensive residences ... Once this process of 'gentrification' starts in

11446-441: The initial 50,000 vehicles will be electric, as will all vehicles purchased after 2026. The number of gallons of fuel used in 2009 was 444 million, at a cost of US$ 1.1 billion . For every penny increase in the national average price of gasoline, the USPS spends an extra US$ 8 million per year to fuel its fleet. The fleet is notable in that many of its vehicles are right-hand drive , an arrangement intended to give drivers

11564-492: The inner-city lifestyle is important for women with children where the father does not care equally for the child, because of the proximity to professional childcare. This attracts single parents, specifically single mothers, to the inner-city as opposed to suburban areas where resources are more geographically spread out. This is often deemed as "marginal gentrification", for the city can offer an easier solution to combining paid and unpaid labor. Inner city concentration increases

11682-411: The investment risk in the housing market. Often they are single people or young couples without children who lack demand for good schools. Gentrifiers are likely searching for inexpensive housing close to the workplace and often already reside in the inner city, sometimes for educational reasons, and do not want to make the move to suburbia. For this demographic, gentrification is not so much the result of

11800-432: The labor force, translating to an expansion of women who have greater opportunities to invest. Smith suggests this group "represents a reservoir of potential gentrifiers." The increasing number of highly educated women play into this theory, given that residence in the inner city can give women access to the well-paying jobs and networking, something that is becoming increasingly common. There are also theories that suggest

11918-498: The nation. While the strike ended without any concessions from the federal government, it did ultimately allow for postal worker unions and the government to negotiate a contract which gave the unions most of what they wanted, as well as the signing of the Postal Reorganization Act by President Richard Nixon on August 12, 1970. The act replaced the cabinet-level Post Office Department with a new federal agency,

12036-410: The organization saw an $ 8.5 billion budget shortfall in 2010, and was losing money at a rate of about $ 3 billion per quarter in 2011. On December 5, 2011, the USPS announced it would close more than half of its mail processing centers, eliminate 28,000 jobs and reduce overnight delivery of First-Class Mail. This will close down 252 of its 461 processing centers. (At peak mail volume in 2006,

12154-814: The political and cultural displacement of long-term residents in school decision-making processes and the loss of Title I funding. Notably, the expansion of school choice (e.g., charter schools, magnet schools, open enrollment policies) have been found to significantly increase the likelihood that college-educated white households gentrify low-income communities of color. A culmination of recent research suggests that gentrification has both detrimental and beneficial effects on health. A 2020 review found that studies tended to show adverse health impacts for Black residents and elderly residents in areas undergoing gentrification. A 2019 study in New York, found that gentrification has no impact on rates of asthma or obesity among low-income children. Growing up in gentrifying neighborhoods

12272-620: The post office to facilitate the predicted flood of mail ballots, but the bill never reached the Senate floor for a vote. A March 2021 report from the Postal Service's inspector general found that the vast majority of mail-in ballots and registration materials in the 2020 election were delivered to the relevant authorities on time. The Postal Service handled approximately 135 million pieces of election-related mail between September 1 and November 3, delivering 97.9% of ballots from voters to election officials within three days, and 99.89% of ballots within seven days. Postmaster General DeJoy helped

12390-421: The process and its positive effects, such as lessening the strain on public resources that are associated with de-concentrating poverty. However, more specific research has shown that gentrification does not necessarily correlate with "social mixing", and that the effects of the new composition of a gentrified neighborhood can both weaken as well as strengthen community cohesion. Housing confers social status, and

12508-619: The process can work to stabilize a previously struggling community, restoring interest in inner-city life as a residential option alongside the suburbs. These changes can create positive feedback as well, encouraging other forms of development of the area that promote general economic growth. Home ownership is a significant variable when it comes to economic impacts of gentrification. People who own their homes are much more able to gain financial benefits of gentrification than those who rent their houses and can be displaced without much compensation. Economic pressure and market price changes relate to

12626-402: The recent changes. On August 16 the House of Representatives was called back from its summer recess to consider a bill rolling back all of the changes. On August 18, 2020, after days of heavy criticism and the day after lawsuits against the Postal Service and DeJoy personally were filed in federal court by several individuals, DeJoy announced that he would roll back all the changes until after

12744-413: The risks of rehabilitating deteriorated property, as well as having the time, skill, and ability to carry out these extensive renovations. David Ley states that the artist's critique of everyday life and search for meaning and renewal are what make them early recruits for gentrification. The identity that residence in the inner city provides is important for the gentrifier, and this is particularly so in

12862-515: The same time, in these urban areas the lower-income population is decreasing due to an increase in the elderly population as well as demographic change. Jackelyn Hwang and Jeffrey Lin have supported in their research that another reason for the influx of upper-class individuals to urban areas is due to the "increase in demand for college-educated workers". It is because of this demand that wealthier individuals with college degrees needed to move into urban cities for work, increasing prices in housing as

12980-640: The school moved to Piney Point Village . [1] The administrative offices of the Houston Public Library are located in the Marston Building in Neartown. The City of Houston spent $ 1.3 million to renovate the Marston Building to accommodate HPL staff. The administration moved to the building after the Central Library was scheduled to close in 2006. The Eleanor K. Freed-Montrose Neighborhood Library of Houston Public Library

13098-430: The services that the Postal Service could offer to only those it already provided and also established a requirement for the USPS to save money for the medical benefits of future retirees. The Act set a goal to save $ 5 billion per year for the first 10 years of a 50-year schedule, however within 6 years the Postal Service began to default on its payments. The Postal Service experienced lower revenues as mail use declined in

13216-403: The speed of gentrification. English-speaking countries have a higher number of property owners and a higher mobility. German speaking countries provide a higher share of rented property and have a much stronger role of municipalities, cooperatives, guilds and unions offering low-price-housing. The effect is a lower speed of gentrification and a broader social mix. Gerhard Hard sees gentrification as

13334-413: The urban area then it was considered to have been gentrified. The method measures the rate of gentrification, not the degree of gentrification; thus, San Francisco , which has a history of gentrification dating to the 1970s, show a decreasing rate between 1990 and 2010. Scholars have also identified census indicators that can be used to reveal that gentrification is taking place in a given area, including

13452-684: Was a community preference for a different option. In a survey of rural customers, 54% preferred the new plan of retaining rural post offices with reduced hours, 20% preferred the "Village Post Office" replacement (where a nearby private retail store would provide basic mail services with expanded hours), 15% preferred merger with another Post Office, and 11% preferred expanded rural delivery services. In 2012, USPS reported that approximately 40% of postal revenue comes from online purchases or private retail partners including Walmart , Staples , Office Depot , Walgreens , Sam's Club , Costco , and grocery stores. The National Labor Relations Board agreed to hear

13570-605: Was a major venue for delivering patronage jobs to the party that controlled the White House. Newspaper editors often were named. It was elevated to a cabinet-level department in 1872, and was transformed by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 into the U.S. Postal Service as an independent agency. Since the early 1980s, many direct tax subsidies to the USPS (with the exception of subsidies for costs associated with disabled and overseas voters) have been reduced or eliminated. The United States Information Agency (USIA) helped

13688-432: Was associated with moderate increases in being diagnosed with anxiety or depression between ages 9–11 relative to similar children raised in non-gentrifying areas. The effects of gentrification on mental health were most prominent for children living in market-rate (rather than subsidized) housing, which lead the authors of the study to suggest financial stress as a possible mechanism. Preventing or mitigating gentrification

13806-443: Was delivered by Ronald Reagan , in 1986; Chew died at age 42, on January 19, 1999. Chew Park has a basketball half court, small soccer (football) field, a dog park and a baseball diamond. Ervan Chew Park has little league games and dog parties. The Neartown Little League, located in Neartown, holds its games at Chew Park. Chew Park was the first park to let dogs run without leashes in a special zone. The Friends of Ervan Chew Park funded

13924-557: Was the Houston Press "Best Hidden Neighborhood" in 2002. In 2015 the Houston city government-defined Neartown/Montrose Super Neighborhood had 31,037 residents. 71% were non-Hispanic white, 18% were Hispanic, 6% were non-Hispanic Asians, 4% were non-Hispanic blacks, and 1% were non-Hispanic others. In 2000 the super neighborhood had 28,015 people. 68% were non-Hispanic whites, 23% were Hispanic, 4% each were non-Hispanic black and Asian, and 2% were non-Hispanic others. The community

#53946