Not in My Neighbourhood

Gentrification, or, the process of changing an urban area so that it conforms to middle class taste, can have a devastating impact on people who are displaced from their neighborhoods.  In this film, director Kurt Orderson shows the negative impact of gentrification, urban renewal, and spatial violence on individuals and families in three cities: Cape Town, New York City, and Sao Paulo.  This fast-paced film features courageous individuals and communities fighting against gentrification, lack of affordable housing, and displacement.  In Cape Town, inner city residents are forced out of De Waal Flats as rents are increased and tenants cannot afford the new market prices.  The Department of Human Settlement offers housing in Pelican Park which is a considerable distance from the city, making it harder for people to get to work.  Housing is far from ideal. The Flatbush Community of Brooklyn finds gentrification bringing in new high-rise apartment buildings with prices that lower income individuals cannot afford.  In Park Slope on 5th Avenue, two local business women are asked to move out, but they file a petition and fight to remain longer. Sao Paulo has an affordable housing crisis; yet, there are over five million housing units available in abandoned buildings. Fortified with their conviction that individuals have a constitutional right to housing, the Homeless Workers Movement breaks into abandoned buildings, occupy the floors, brings in families, and installs security.  With 23 floors, the Prestes Maia building becomes the largest occupied building in South America.  Viewing the sadness and frustration of long-time residents who are forced to move to less desirable locations, as well as learning about the lack of vision by urban planners to revitalize neighborhoods instead of gentrifying them, makes this film an eye-opening experience.  By showing the opposite side of gentrification, it may resonate well as a call to action.  Recommended.  Aud:  J, H, C, P.  (T. Root)