Difference between revisions of "Countering Gentrification: Community Based and Collaborative Methods"

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==Do you want to learn more about this intervention?==
==Do you want to learn more about this intervention?==
Take a look at the detailed [[Anti-gentrification resistances case]] that has inspired this scenario.


This intervention fits under the approaches:
This intervention fits under the approaches:

Revision as of 11:26, 29 June 2020

Imagine a city where residents of limited means could live in affordable social housing located in the city-center and peacefully enjoy their neighborhood for years to come.

This intervention may result from the collective engagement of citizens to resist the gentrification process that occurs in many city centers. Especially in a context of economic crisis, austerity measures are likely to include the sale of public real estate and the privatization of social housing. As a response, local residents directly affected by this process could be the initiators of a resistance to displacement. Such resistance may grow bigger and become more visible, eventually reaching to other actors including community organizations as well as local public authorities.

In such an intervention, the role of public authorities is quite central because privatization in the housing sector is often closely related to governmental regulatory frameworks. Indeed, as national and local governments are running out of public money because of an economic crisis, they may have enforced a set of privatization policies in the sector of housing. Such policies lead to the eviction of working-class dwellers and eventually, could launch resistance against it.

But what could be done to counter this detrimental process? To resist against the privatization of social housing and evictions, citizens could voice their right to “stay put” and engage in different actions including occupying housing. Opening the dialogue between resistance fighters and public actors may be central to the success of the intervention. For this purpose, the creation of a citizen platform voicing the claim of citizens to the municipality may be quite a handy tool. Indeed, it could raise awareness among local authorities on the detrimental impacts of privatization policies, and possibly lead to the creation of a set of new policies, including re-housing or the regularization of informal housing.

Although this public response would be welcomed, it may not equally benefit residents and as a consequence, create dissensus among them. Eventually, community resistance could be undermined. If governmental policies are not consistent i.e. do not equally protect endangered residents, they could reinforce the social problem initially addressed.

These governance arrangements between citizens and public actors against gentrification aims at being inspirational. The processes it features may be replicated in other urban settings in a similar context i.e. where the public sector is weakened by an economic crisis. Sharing and discussing these processes between community organizations as well as local and national governments from different countries may be quite effective to create some learning about effective tools for resisting gentrification.

Do you want to learn more about this intervention?

Take a look at the detailed Anti-gentrification resistances case that has inspired this scenario.

This intervention fits under the approaches:

It addresses some drivers of injustice: