I used to live in an area that gentrified pretty quickly. Which led to the formation of something that can be called an affluent ghetto. Historically ghettos were places were urban Jews were allowed to live in Eastern Europe. Later they denoted inner city district in the United States that became places were mostly black people and immigrants lived in poor conditions.

Today many cities seem to have reverse ghettos. Places were affluent and educated people stream in. Their demand for apartments raise the average rent or real estate price so high, that other less affluent (but by no means poor) people can not afford to live there. With affluence comes of course a taste in the finer things of life so that many stores and restaurants cater to the well-off too. Cheaper stores are simply not much in demand and can’t cover the rising commercial rents.

At some point a city district becomes monocultural despite it’s ostentatious diversity. People might come from different countries or seem very diverse in their identities but they are all well-educated, well-off, mostly left-leaning and eco-friendly. There is nothing wrong with being like this. I myself tick three of the boxes and you can guess which. It becomes a problem when everyone is like this. You end living in a bubble where everyone thinks and acts alike. How boring and how limiting. Only exposure to different kinds of people, different ways of life can really help us to understand each other.

Therefore I find the these three photos quite ironic. The building shown was newly built in 2012 and the units sold out quickly for eye-watering prices. Many affluent families moved in. But the building is incredibly ugly. The developer knew that demand for apartments was so high that he could essentially sell anything. So he build this monstrosity of concrete and iron. This is the price people pay for living in their bubble.