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Kicked to the Curb

Alex Pareene Book Forum
Gentrification is no myth, and saying so is magical thinking. Through oral histories and a solid grasp of urban history and urban geography, journalist GW Gibson shows not just its quite palpable and direct contribution to the displacement of low-income people, but, using New York City as his template, traces the radical decline of affordable housing city-wide. Case closed!

books

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Laura Wexler The Washington Post
Chief Justice John Roberts grew up in a town that banned black residents. Places like Long Branch, Ind., were often called Sundown Towns. Only whites were allowed on the streets after dark. James W. Loewen published the first study of these towns ten years ago, just as Roberts was named to the court. Laura Wexler published one of the few reviews of the book. Along with the review, below, are links to the book's website and to the book's introduction.

One-Fifth of Detroit's Population Could Lose Their Homes

By Rose Hackman The Atlantic
As Detroit seeks to leave bankruptcy behind and get back on its feet—ramping up development with construction of a light rail and a new hockey arena that will cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars—it is simultaneously bearing witness to a process that could evict up to 142,000 of its residents, many of whom are too poor to pay their property taxes.

That's Got Shall Get

Nathalie Baptiste The American Prospect
Two years after we last investigated the the foreclosure crisis in most affluent black county in America, things aren't exactly looking up—except, maybe, for the banks.

How Health and Housing Relate to Crime in Chicago

Whet Moser Chicago Magazine
Low birth weight, childhood lead poisoning, pre-term births, and infant mortality rate all go hand in hand with the crime rate—but there are significant differences in how neighboring communities are affected.

Rehab Aid Focused in Gentrifying Areas, Distressed Areas Languish

Angela Caputo Chicago Reporter
Chicago began receiving program money in 2009, roughly a year after the housing market crashed. In the six years since, the city has collected $169 million — of which $140 million went to rehabbing and demolishing homes. But records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show the city spent money on buildings with luxury finishes in gentrifying areas while distressed properties in some of the city’s hardest hit neighborhoods were left to languish.

Friday Nite Videos -- October 18, 2013

Portside
A Better Place | Playing For Change. 'SaveCanada' Punks TransCanada. Out of the Furnace: Movie. A Bold Plan to Fix the Mortgage Mess. The Musical Genius: Derek Paravicini. New Drugs for Old Bugs.

A Bold Plan to Fix the Mortgage Mess

GRITtv with Laura Flanders explores how eminent domain power could help cities combat the power of the finance sector and give mortgage relief to underwater homeowners.
 
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