Gentrification

This is a tale of two (kinds of) cities. First, there are the fast-growing coastal megalopolises—including Washington, DC, Seattle, and San Francisco—where an influx of millennials has spurred new investment in housing, transit, parks and other amenities. In those cities, the much celebrated urban revitalization has come at a cost: it has displaced countless long-time residents—especially people of color and those of limited means—who can no longer afford their newly gentrified neighborhoods.

Second, there are cities across the American heartland—Detroit, St. Louis and Cleveland, for example—where many neighborhoods are still waiting for their chance at revival. In those cities, residents of blighted neighborhoods suffer from disinvestment and dysfunction, caught in a downward spiral of declining value, revenue and services. This Island Press Urban Resilience Project webinar explores strategies to create urban revitalization for all—on the gentrifying coasts and in the still-declining rustbelt. It highlights successful policies and programs to boost investment without displacing less affluent residents, preserve affordable housing, create jobs, and foster racial and income diversity.

Moderator is Anthony A. Williams, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Federal City Council; Mayor, Washington, DC., with Panelists Alan Mallach, Senior Fellow, Center for Community Progress, author of The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America; Justin Garrett Moore, Executive Director, NYC Public Design Commission, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University; Co-Founder, Urban Patch, AICP Commissioner, APA; Vivian Satterfield, Deputy Director, OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon. 2018. 100 minutes

Acclaimed filmmaker Marc Levin explores the effects of hyper-gentrification and rising economic disparity in the NYC neighborhood of West Chelsea. On one side of the intersection of 10th Ave. and 26th St. sits Avenues: The World School, an elite, state-of-the art private school (pre-K through 12th grade) with a $40,000 plus per year price tag. On the other side sits the Elliott-Chelsea public-housing projects, home to thousands of underemployed and underserved residents living mostly below the poverty line. Through the stories of young people from both sides of the street, we learn what it is like to live here, in the shadow of The High Line, a celebrated elevated park that has spawned skyrocketing property values that are among the highest in the city. As we see, the juxtaposition of “haves and have-nots” in West Chelsea underscores a growing problem in many urban meccas around the country, as low-income residents are feeling the pressure of new money and luxury living that may eventually force them to move out of the very neighborhoods where they were born and raised. 2016. 75 minutes

Through her groundbreaking books, Jane Jacobs has influenced the planning and understanding of cities and economies with what she calls a “web way of thinking.” In this program, Jacobs shares her insights into urban planning by tracing the progression of ideas in her books, including The Death and Life of Great American Cities; The Economy of Cities; Cities and the Wealth of Nations; Systems of Survival; and her most recent, The Nature of Economies. An extended interview with Jacobs is blended with scenes from various North American cities and footage of her 1997 seminar, “Ideas That Matter.” 2003. 45 minutes

Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context