Robbie Clark of Just Cause
Hard Knock Radio 04-09-14 We sat down and spoke with Robbie Clark of Just Cause/ Causa Justa about the new 110 page report called Development Without Displacement: Resisting Gentrification in the Bay Area that shares important finding on the impacts of gentrification on Bay Area communities and some principles and policies for stabilizing our cities so that long-term residents and communities of color and stay and thrive.
The report was done with the Alameda County Department of Health and although it focuses on Bay Area cities Oakland and San Francisco its findings apply to regions all over the country. Whats most telling is how this gentrification process of mass displacement along racial and class lines and its long-term health impact…
As Robbie Clark noted in our conversation everything from long commutes to no longer being around familiar settings and family and friends to not having access to adequate health facilities and resources in new places where folks are being displaced have had devastating impact. The stress of not being able to hold onto a home or having rents significantly increase has been unsettling for many resulting in long-term health issues.
During our conversation we spoke about the root causes of gentrification in the Bay Area and the key role ruthless corporations have played in driving up home prices by pressuring politicians to put forth specific policies to prevent rent control and make evictions easy…
We also talk about the various waves of gentrification. Often we focus on the impact of Black and Brown folks in particular areas, but in cities like San Francisco, gentrified from 10 years ago are now showing those gentrifiers are being displaced. People who were forced to move away from the cities into far off suburbs are finding they are not safe from the predatory process as investment corporations are set on driving up home prices and rents in those areas as well. In short there is no escaping the practice by moving away. Its about pushing for policy changes and redefining how communities should be.
Robbie was great in laying out several of the many solutions this report puts forth. Most important is organizing. It seems simple on the surface,but it’s not done as effectively as it can and should be. In addition what’s often not realized is that new comers into a community often feel empowered and quickly organize and petition locals municipalities to craft a vision for the community as they see fit. This vision often includes adding new police, putting forth new ordinances and developing policies to make it easier to remove families who they deem problematic.
Great title: “Development without displacement,” because in three words, it says it all. The class based analysis is implicit, as is the solution: solidarity and activism to oppose elite policy and replace it with a set of remedies that serve the people. Community Development Corporations can be core to the strategies, where the community is in charge of the outcomes.
This topic seems to have been played out based on the number of comments.
For or against it really doesn’t matter ; you can’t exclude folks if they have the downpayment whether black , purple , or velvet puce color. And who really cares ?? nobody quote owns culture. And if you think you do who is the real bigot ?
“velvet puce” added to the “doesn’t matter if you’re white, black or purple” cliche. That alone is enough reason to stop gentrification.
well seems like everyone is some hung up on color ; I thought I would throw that in.