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# Letter: Beach neighborhood gentrification is displacing the poor and middle class
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/091308-story-20080913-9/
- Published: 2008-09-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T21:01:20.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

“IN THE DOCUMENTARY ‘DOGTOWN’ they say the beach neighborhood in the ‘70s was dangerous, dirty, and filthy. It was paradise. Now the same $25,000 homes are $2.5 million and most of the poor are displaced. Not long ago you could go to the bakery on Rose and buy six rolls and a cupcake for a buck or go to the St. Joseph thrift and get a shirt, pants and a book for $2\. Or stop at Big Lots and buy a Coke, a hammy and a candy bar for three bucks. Now we can go into Whole Foods and get a little bottle of water for $5\. The yuppiza-tion of the beach areas are great for real estate values and the rich, but the poor and middle class suffer.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 13, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091308.pdf?ref=smdp.com)