Section outline

  • What is gentrification and why does it happen? Is it a good thing? A bad thing? A natural process and thus morally neutral? Who benefits and how?

    Read:

    (Read only pp. 3-13 and pp. 75-104.) Hyra, D. S. (2017). Race, class, and politics in the cappuccino city. University of Chicago Press.

    Crockett, Jr, S. A. (2012, August 3). The Brixton: It’s new, happening and another example of African-American historical “swagger-jacking.” The Washington Post.

    Franke-Ruta, G. (2012, August 10). The Politics of the Urban Comeback: Gentrification and Culture in D.C. The Atlantic.

    Field journal UL-3: Find and take a picture of a building, signage, or public art that reflects a particular racial or cultural heritage. What role do you think that representation is playing (or is intended to play) in this object and the ways people relate to it? How does Hyra’s idea of “Black branding” compare to what Crockett means by “historical swagger-jacking?” What is Franke-Ruta’s argument? What parts of these three perspectives do you find most compelling?

    Speaker: Dominic Moulden, long-time Resource Organizer, ONE DC