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Harambee

Harambee, as its name implies, is a largely African-American neighborhood. It was settled by Germans in the mid 19th century but by the 1950s had transitioned to a darker hue.

The area has some stunning Victorian houses that survived the urban crises of the 1970s - some in better shape than others. As I was lamenting the often sad state of affairs, I had a brief discussion with a gentleman who was working on a gut renovation. He made a comment that, although one of these old houses was fairly cheap to purchase, once you bought it, it became your life. No vacations, no disposable income, just keeping up the old house. Since I had little desire to expend the precious remaining moments of my life in home improvement, it gave me pause about whether it was morally consistent to wish that someone else would make such a sacrifice just to preserve a fetishized echo of history. Perhaps it is better to take them down and put something less maintenance-intensive in their place.

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