Over the past decade of "prosperity", up-and-coming enclaves such as Eagle Rock in Los Angeles and the Lower East Side in Manhattan gained residents -- and coffee shops, restaurants and design stores. In Eagle Rock, the new bourgeouis bohemians ("bo-bo"s) arrived, flush with web start-up capital, screenwriting lucre and steady paychecks from architecture gigs. The median sale price of a home in Eagle Rock rose from $260,000 in 2000 to $620,000 in 2005
Derelict buildings gained eager new tenants with "big ideas" for retail. Old-school businesses such as car repair shops were replaced by hip new eateries and purveyors of design and antiques.
But, alas, the economy has soured and the wave of gentrification seems to have receded. The neighborhood has reverted to being its quiet, modest and often, charming, self. Maybe it reminds people why they moved there in the first place. [Source]
Jamie Adner
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