Noticing Urban Complexities

Cooperation vs. Gentrification: Bed Stuy Strives to Stay Local

 

This video introduced me to the idea of a cooperative organization as a business model. Gentrification is a rising problem in New York City, especially Brooklyn, but this video offers a solution that involves the current residents to combat high living costs. When residents are able to contribute to their community through work in their own businesses and community planning, they are more invested in their contributions. People will gain a sense of independence as well as codependency. Most importantly, people will feel empowered. Gentrification is not an unsolvable tragedy, rather, there can be programs that are implemented into an affected community that can get the community involved.

 

Redlining

This video discussed racial discrimination in real estate and how communities of color received lower ratings. Suburbans were suburbanized racially which is just an example of how systematic racism affects who gets to live in certain communities and what opportunities certain people can receive. In the 1930s real-estate appraisal system, federal investigators believed non-white families could undermine real-estate values, which was an incentive to real-estate agents to not sell to certain people based on their race. This affects the community and who lives in the community, as well as the future population.

Exposing Housing Discrimination: A Conversation with Marge Turner and Justin Carter

This video highlights the importance of residency and exposes housing discrimination. The Department of Housing uses the method of Paired Testing to show the racism in the real estate process and how white clients are offered more information about units and therefore, have higher chances of buying homes. Justin Carter expresses his personal experience conducting racial discrimination tests in home-buying and Marge Turner states how though not as severe, housing discrimination still exists today. Housing discrimination affects the lives and futures of people, a neighborhood, and a community.

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