I don't know about any other cities than Portland but neighborhoods that are being gentrified have languished in poverty and crime and sort of a structural slippery slope to the bottom with housing going unrepaired, drugs and drive bys, all the goodies of a piss poor and crumbling neighborhood. No easy answer but for me leaving it alone is not an option, building "Cabrini Green" Chicago style housing is not an option, what is? It's a conundrum unanswered save for gentrification.