More interesting dialog than I could get started on Style's cover story, here. The article explores that thing that bothers me: where are the working poor going? The family two doors down is gone, and some dude with a Grateful Dead sticker on his pickup is proudly flipping the place. A family that shouts at the kids will be replaced by . . . boring bank execs? High-end college-age renters who will still throw loud parties? The house one south of the flipee is occupied by a woman who babysits and a man who wears painter's pants and bikes off to work. How much longer will they be able to afford our neighborhood, where suddenly the houses are "worth" over $200,000 -- and almost none have central a/c? The babysitter and painter(?), and F. and his family, aren't particular friends, but they're fine neighbors (well maybe the former pair more than the latter, who were noisy). They should have a decent place to live.

Authors Scott Bass and Chris Dovi don't focus only on the poorest Richmonders; they mention, too, that

the rising property values aren’t discriminating these days. It’s not only pushing out the poorest residents, it’s also pushing out young professionals, schoolteachers, policemen and other workers who once called Richmond home.

I feel certain that a city that can house the CVS clerks, painters, janitors, schoolteachers, police officers, non-profit agency employees, AND CapOne execs (in their freakin SUVs, going to that freakin new Starbucks and making traffic insane on that block of Robinson St.) would be better than a city full of rich+ people.