When it came time for the freeze frame, we stopped on 5^th Avenue in between Alta Vista and St. Anne.  This older working-class neighborhood was well kept up, with a few homes that resembled a Sanford & Son yard with junk and broken down cars in them, whereas others were neatly trimmed and organized.  I wondered what this neighborhood was like when it was first established, as I could visualize ghost images of an era long gone.

 Today, I saw beautiful lush green established trees of various species.  Bars covered the windows of some homes.  One home had foil on the window to block the sweltering summer heat. Some homes still had Christmas lights up. One house had a couch and another had a swing set and toys in the front yard. For help in interpreting these South Phoenix yards, I turn to James Rojas' article "The Latino Use of Urban Space in East Los Angeles".  According to James Rojas these items in the front yard create a sense of security as markers for territory.   In east L.A., the residents utilize the outer space of their home to create a community.  The front yards were fenced in with a low chain link fence.  These fences bring social gatherings.  As you enter through the front gate, Rojas suggests, you are entering the home.  The front door has moved from the home to the gate of the fence.  As I sit here observing, I vision a gathering at one of the houses for a social interaction.

  I heard children’s voices but could not see them.  A man with an ice cream truck was returning home.  When we drove by his house, we saw in his yard he had several ice cream trucks.  Other than the ice cream man, there was little activity going on in this neighborhood.  Everyone must be at work or school on this Friday afternoon.  I saw only one car drive down the street during the time we were there.

 About half way down the street, a Latino man was sweeping in the street in front of a house.  He then walked down the street towards us, pushing a lawn mower with a garbage can propped on top with lawn tools inside the garbage can.  He did not even acknowledge us as he walked by.  A mother and her two young children walked by us.  The little girl curiously looked at us because we were sitting in a van with the doors open.  I said hi to her and her mother looked back, not sure what to make of us, and grabbed the little girl by the hand in a protective manner.  Some children came out to their front yard to play, which happened to be the house where the ice cream truck was parked in the drive way.  They had a couple of dogs that also were out with the kids.

 After observing for 20 minutes we drove to the end of the block.  There was a house for sale at the end of the block.  We found out the house was selling for $99,000.00.  On 7^th Avenue between Alta Vista and St. Anne was a new subdivision.  The homes were selling from the high $90’s.  Within three weeks the price of the homes in the subdivision went up almost $20,000.00. 

 Gentrification seems to be making its to South Phoenix.  Will the new subdivisions be content to live side by side with the older South Phoenix neighborhoods, and their rich cultural front yard living rooms?  Will the new communities in South Phoenix, take away the environment of the Latino community?