Pilsen Sociology Paper

Located in the Lower West Side of Chicago, the neighborhood of Pilsen is the most advertised area currently undergoing gentrification in the city. The neighborhood has been the heart of Latin-American and Mexican-American culture ever since the area was overtaken from whites in the 1950’s and 60’s. In recent years this culture has been under attack from forces of gentrification, wealthier incoming groups , and the displacement of Hispanic natives. There are many sociological elements in play with this situation, but two main ones are the dynamics of power and its affect on culture. The sociological definition of culture is very simple but has extremely broad parameters in its scope, with it including any shared forms of practices, beliefs,

With the influx of wealthier population, new outsider property owners, and the construction of new apartment buildings, property owners in Pilsen are using their power to decide who can and can not afford to stay in Pilsen. More often than not those who can not afford to stay are the working class Latinos that have defined Pilsen’s culture since the mid-20th century. Those with public power in Pilsen are fighting back to this displacement due to rising rents and are using their power to change policy in the community to keep working class residents from being removed. This effort is viewed as an attempt to preserve the cultural identity of the community, to systematically resist the forces causing the culture of Pilsen to change. In addition to these efforts, there are indirect forces of power affecting the cultural change in the

For many people living in Pilsen, the rich Latino identity of the community was the reason they lived there, and since that culture has undergone change they no longer desire to stay. This process is caused by the third aspect of power, with the existence of new cultural forces of a more powerful group influencing the residents of Pilsen without any direct compulsion. Included in this process is also how it affects the culture of the community and the two main groups in it. The group of wealthier, mostly white, people moving into the Pilsen community bring with them elements of their culture, and through their interaction with the native Pilsen residents, their power is exercised in affecting the strong Latino culture. Not just applying to influence one group, the process goes both ways, with the native Latino culture also affecting any newcomers through the third aspect of power. These newcomers learn about the Latino community from seeing the murals around the neighborhood and interacting with members of the culture, and they learn to embrace this culture without being forced to do