According to some political scientists, the politicians have a goal: James Michael Curley, a four-time mayor of Boston, used wasteful redistribution to his poor Irish constituents and incendiary rhetoric to encourage richer citizens to emigrate from Boston, thereby shaping the electorate in his favor. Boston as a consequence stagnated, but Curley kept winning elections . . .
We call this strategy–increasing the relative size of one’s political base through distortionary, wealth-reducing policies–the Curley effect. But it is hardly unique to Curley. Other American mayors, but also politicians around the world, pursued policies that encouraged emigration of their political enemies, raising poverty but gaining political advantage. In his 24 years as mayor, Detroit’s Coleman Young drove white residents and businesses out of the city. “Under Young, Detroit has become not merely an American city that happens to have a black majority, but a black metropolis, the first major Third World city in the United States. The trappings are all there–showcase projects, black-fisted symbols, an external enemy, and the cult of personality” (Chafets 1990, p. 177). Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe abused the white farmers after his country’s independence, openly encouraging their emigration even at a huge cost to the economy.
In the USA, politicians can also use crime and drugs to drive out the conservative "Law and Order" voters into leaving the city. Result: with the city turned into a ghetto full of welfare recipients, druggies and thieves who vote for them so the politician can't lose - think Marion Barry type mayors. The idea is that it is better to rule over and loot a ruined city than lose elections to reformers. To do this, prevent criminals from being jailed and release them over and over to prey on the responsible voters . . . also, prevent the law abiding from protecting themselves via gun control laws . . . the more your pets kill and rob unstopped, the fewer "enemy" voters survive unless they flee the city . . .

Originally Posted by
Juggernaut
When you stop locking up violent criminals in certain areas because you're afraid to offend the demographics, the police stop showing up. They think this is a positive because "Black Lives Matter" and "Defund the police" are their biggest slogans.
But you see, when the police stop showing up, the criminals can move on to the businesses. Then the businesses get fed up and move out and voila, reverse gentrification.