Analysis Of The Kern s Article Gendered Urbanization

In relation to this, Kern’s article â€Å"Gendered Urbanization† illustrates how the factors attracting affluent women to the new condominiums in Parkdale are often the same instruments of oppression against the residents; according to her research, an attractive aspect of the new condominiums are security measures put into place to keep out the impoverished, and therefore dangerous, communities within Parkdale, such as a 24-hour concierge, double locks on all apartment doors, and a video monitor at the front desk. Even if â€Å"street[s] are very quiet† (Kern 372, III) the design of the buildings project and imply a criminal, unpredictable nature onto the original residents of Parkdale, and â€Å"enshrines these expectations into the built environment†. One resident interviewed stated â€Å" my [apartment] has twenty-four-hour security, and they don’t let anybody in without talking to security. Residents are not allowed to let anybody in, even if you open the doors† (Kern 372, IV). Therefore, the community lost to the shift in housing rates is not replaced with incoming residents, but rather the two communities are segregated by classist infrastructure and stereotypes that push the lower income people to the outskirts of Parkdale. This leads to a huge sense of isolation and unease in the community of original Parkdale residents because, not only are they threatened and disadvantaged financially, the implantation on these condominiums are actively keeping them out. In this same line of