0:00:02.870,0:00:03.870 Greetings Troublemakers... 0:00:03.870,0:00:05.070 welcome to Trouble. 0:00:05.070,0:00:07.090 My name is not important. 0:00:07.090,0:00:08.040 Whether you live in a [br] 0:00:08.040,0:00:09.630 densely-populated metropolis, 0:00:09.630,0:00:10.630 or a mid-sized city, 0:00:10.630,0:00:11.920 chances are you've had 0:00:11.920,0:00:13.070 first-hand experiences [br] 0:00:13.070,0:00:13.970 dealing with the process 0:00:13.970,0:00:15.260 of capitalist urbanization 0:00:15.260,0:00:17.110 known as gentrification. 0:00:17.110,0:00:18.960 It's called gentrification. 0:00:18.960,0:00:20.620 They can buy the land at a lower price. 0:00:20.620,0:00:22.330 Then they move all the people out, 0:00:22.330,0:00:23.440 raise the property value, 0:00:23.440,0:00:25.070 and sell it at a profit. 0:00:25.070,0:00:26.080 While this disease is 0:00:26.080,0:00:27.680 often popularly associated[br] 0:00:27.680,0:00:29.453 with its most visible symptoms, 0:00:29.453,0:00:31.366 like the opening of a new boutique cafe 0:00:31.366,0:00:32.126 on your block, 0:00:32.126,0:00:33.870 or the seemingly endless construction 0:00:33.870,0:00:35.940 of new high-rise condo towers... 0:00:35.940,0:00:38.180 gentrification is, at its core, 0:00:38.180,0:00:40.630 a process of displacement. 0:00:40.630,0:00:41.630 It is class warfare, 0:00:41.630,0:00:42.830 waged in the physical spaces 0:00:42.830,0:00:44.550 of our neighbourhoods. 0:00:44.550,0:00:46.330 It is speculation and investment, 0:00:46.330,0:00:47.800 financed by banks, investment firms 0:00:47.800,0:00:49.580 and pension funds, 0:00:49.580,0:00:51.210 enacted by real estate developers 0:00:51.210,0:00:52.710 and facilitated by state, regional 0:00:52.710,0:00:54.710 and local governments. 0:00:54.710,0:00:56.099 The development of the modern city 0:00:56.099,0:00:58.179 has always been, and continues to be, 0:00:58.179,0:00:59.729 intimately tied to the interests 0:00:59.729,0:01:01.710 of capitalists and the ruling class. 0:01:01.710,0:01:03.570 Many of the cities that exist today 0:01:03.570,0:01:04.640 first emerged back in 0:01:04.640,0:01:06.450 the 18th and 19th century, 0:01:06.450,0:01:07.370 often in tandem with 0:01:07.370,0:01:08.470 the development and spread[br] 0:01:08.470,0:01:09.800 of industrial manufacturing 0:01:09.800,0:01:11.560 and resource extraction. 0:01:11.880,0:01:13.380 Early capitalists required 0:01:13.380,0:01:15.250 massive numbers of workers to toil 0:01:15.250,0:01:16.680 in their factories and mines, 0:01:16.680,0:01:18.640 and so people were forced off the land 0:01:18.640,0:01:20.690 and into concentrated urban populations, 0:01:20.690,0:01:21.660 where they often lived 0:01:21.660,0:01:23.160 in squalor and misery. 0:01:23.160,0:01:24.770 In much of the Global South, 0:01:24.770,0:01:26.750 this phenomenon is still taking place, 0:01:26.750,0:01:28.650 as farmers and Indigenous communities 0:01:28.650,0:01:30.100 are pushed off their lands and forced[br] 0:01:30.100,0:01:31.920 to move to cities to work in factories 0:01:31.920,0:01:33.890 or precarious jobs in informal 0:01:33.890,0:01:35.640 and black market economies. 0:01:35.950,0:01:38.260 In 2014, the UN estimated that 0:01:38.260,0:01:40.050 for the first time in human history, 0:01:40.050,0:01:42.470 more than half of us lived in cities. 0:01:42.470,0:01:44.420 This trend is only set to increase.. 0:01:44.420,0:01:46.350 and by far the fastest rate of urban 0:01:46.350,0:01:48.000 population growth is occurring in 0:01:48.000,0:01:49.080 sprawling and overcrowded 0:01:49.080,0:01:50.540 mega-slums. 0:01:50.540,0:01:52.380 Meanwhile, in the Global North, 0:01:52.380,0:01:54.180 today's metropolitan cities have become 0:01:54.180,0:01:55.760 the command and control centres 0:01:55.760,0:01:57.590 for transnational corporations, 0:01:57.590,0:01:59.080 hubs of global finance, 0:01:59.080,0:02:00.780 and incubators of the dynamic new 0:02:00.780,0:02:02.473 flag-bearers of the so-called 0:02:02.473,0:02:03.886 information economy. 0:02:04.126,0:02:05.370 Yet at the same time, 0:02:05.370,0:02:07.030 decades of corporate off-shoring 0:02:07.030,0:02:08.790 and neoliberal structural adjustments 0:02:08.790,0:02:10.030 have created deep reservoirs 0:02:10.030,0:02:11.610 of inequality. 0:02:11.610,0:02:13.623 Gentrification is a byproduct[br] 0:02:13.623,0:02:14.836 of this contradiction. 0:02:14.836,0:02:15.910 A process whereby cities 0:02:15.910,0:02:16.655 and neighbourhoods 0:02:16.655,0:02:17.640 regenerate themselves 0:02:17.640,0:02:19.370 by displacing working-class people 0:02:19.370,0:02:21.230 to suburban ghettos in order to make 0:02:21.230,0:02:22.670 more room for the lavish lifestyles 0:02:22.670,0:02:23.591 of the rich. 0:02:23.591,0:02:25.510 Over the next thirty minutes, 0:02:25.510,0:02:27.000 we will look at gentrification 0:02:27.000,0:02:28.290 as a structural phenomenon, 0:02:28.290,0:02:29.850 and examine how it is playing out 0:02:29.850,0:02:31.000 in three megacities: 0:02:31.000,0:02:33.530 Toronto, New Orleans and Istanbul. 0:02:33.530,0:02:34.599 Along the way, 0:02:34.599,0:02:36.099 we will highlight the voices of a number 0:02:36.099,0:02:37.489 of individuals who are organizing 0:02:37.489,0:02:38.499 with their neighbours, 0:02:38.499,0:02:39.649 fighting back against the state 0:02:39.649,0:02:41.109 and corporate developers... 0:02:41.109,0:02:42.769 and making a whole lot of trouble. 0:03:11.179,0:03:14.569 Since the financial crisis in 2008, 0:03:14.569,0:03:16.019 we’ve increasingly seen 0:03:16.019,0:03:17.932 the financialization of 0:03:17.932,0:03:20.296 the rental housing sector. 0:03:20.296,0:03:21.296 Financialization is a bit of 0:03:21.296,0:03:22.420 a complicated term. 0:03:22.420,0:03:24.689 What it really refers to is this shift 0:03:24.689,0:03:26.579 in the way that capitalism 0:03:26.579,0:03:27.829 has been operating, 0:03:27.829,0:03:29.219 and a change that's taken place 0:03:29.219,0:03:30.669 since about the 1970’s. 0:03:31.189,0:03:33.359 So a shift from capital accumulation 0:03:33.359,0:03:35.059 coming from commodity production 0:03:35.059,0:03:37.239 to coming through financial channels. 0:03:37.239,0:03:39.240 And what this has also involved is 0:03:39.240,0:03:41.070 an increasing role for finance capital 0:03:41.070,0:03:42.470 in other parts of the economy where 0:03:42.470,0:03:43.779 it hadn’t previously played 0:03:43.779,0:03:45.099 a prominent role, 0:03:45.099,0:03:46.760 and then enforcing on those 0:03:46.760,0:03:50.350 parts of the economy, logics of finance. 0:03:50.790,0:03:54.120 Today, big money is made in cities. 0:03:54.120,0:03:56.040 The real estate market is currently 0:03:56.040,0:03:57.210 the largest sector of 0:03:57.210,0:03:58.850 the Canadian economy. 0:03:58.850,0:04:00.300 If you look at the biggest landlords 0:04:00.300,0:04:02.900 in the country, 18 out of the top 20 0:04:02.900,0:04:04.320 would fall under the category 0:04:04.320,0:04:06.359 of these financialized landlords. 0:04:06.579,0:04:08.260 You see things like hedge funds 0:04:08.260,0:04:09.980 and pension funds that are invested 0:04:09.980,0:04:12.139 in different local housing markets 0:04:12.139,0:04:13.959 because it’s seen as a relatively 0:04:13.959,0:04:15.519 safe investment. 0:04:15.519,0:04:17.280 Fincialized investment in Canada 0:04:17.280,0:04:20.080 has been growing since the 1990’s. 0:04:20.080,0:04:22.270 Real Estate Investment Trusts 0:04:22.270,0:04:23.750 are increasingly taking over 0:04:23.750,0:04:25.750 the rental housing market. 0:04:25.750,0:04:27.440 Since 1996, 0:04:27.440,0:04:28.690 Real Estate Investment Trusts, 0:04:28.690,0:04:29.980 or REIT’s, in particular, 0:04:29.980,0:04:32.470 have grown from owning zero 0:04:32.470,0:04:33.980 multi-family apartment suites, 0:04:33.980,0:04:36.170 to owning over 160 000. 0:04:36.170,0:04:37.630 Such that now they own 0:04:37.630,0:04:41.080 about ten percent of privately-built 0:04:41.080,0:04:43.600 multi-family housing in the country. 0:04:43.600,0:04:44.589 Real Estate Investment Trusts 0:04:44.589,0:04:47.139 allow investors to pool capital together 0:04:47.139,0:04:49.349 to purchase real estate 0:04:49.349,0:04:50.859 and the real estate itself 0:04:50.859,0:04:52.219 then gets managed in a way 0:04:52.219,0:04:53.919 to try and increase its value 0:04:53.919,0:04:55.322 and generate profits 0:04:55.322,0:04:56.365 back to those investors. 0:04:56.365,0:04:57.979 So real estate investment trusts 0:04:57.979,0:04:59.929 have access to tremendous amounts 0:04:59.929,0:05:02.329 of capital and can buy large portfolios 0:05:02.329,0:05:03.970 of buildings as they grow. 0:05:03.970,0:05:05.630 And then they can take advantage of 0:05:05.630,0:05:07.070 economies of scale to make 0:05:07.070,0:05:08.450 those buildings more profitable. 0:05:08.450,0:05:10.960 What they call this is "re-positioning." 0:05:10.960,0:05:13.749 This has created a situation where 0:05:13.749,0:05:16.019 all landlords across the board 0:05:16.019,0:05:18.610 have been forced to take on 0:05:18.610,0:05:21.520 certain strategies to increase profits 0:05:21.520,0:05:23.960 in order to compete on that market. 0:05:23.960,0:05:25.190 Housing prices have been going up 0:05:25.190,0:05:26.430 in Canada and indeed 0:05:26.430,0:05:27.940 other parts of the world. 0:05:27.940,0:05:30.700 Canada’s been hit particularly hard. 0:05:30.700,0:05:33.099 One of the hottest real estate markets 0:05:33.099,0:05:35.139 where we’ve seen the largest increase 0:05:35.139,0:05:38.599 in property values has been Toronto. 0:05:38.599,0:05:39.690 In Ontario, 0:05:39.690,0:05:41.570 the government sets an annual 0:05:41.570,0:05:42.790 rent guideline. 0:05:42.790,0:05:44.799 This is the amount that landlords 0:05:44.799,0:05:46.839 are legally permitted to 0:05:46.839,0:05:49.569 raise rents for sitting tenants. 0:05:49.569,0:05:53.370 The guideline in 2017 was 1.5 percent. 0:05:53.370,0:05:56.399 Yet we saw a 6% overall 0:05:56.399,0:05:58.589 increase in rents. 0:05:59.129,0:06:01.479 And so landlords have been able 0:06:01.479,0:06:04.459 to raise rents beyond 0:06:04.459,0:06:06.169 the provincial guideline 0:06:06.169,0:06:09.180 primarily through vacancy decontrol. 0:06:09.180,0:06:12.790 Since the 90’s we’ve had no rent control 0:06:12.790,0:06:14.520 on vacant units. 0:06:14.520,0:06:16.159 So this creates a pressure 0:06:16.159,0:06:18.129 to try and make units vacant 0:06:18.129,0:06:19.989 so that the rent can be increased 0:06:19.989,0:06:21.750 up to whatever the market will bear. 0:06:21.750,0:06:23.540 In the last year, 0:06:23.540,0:06:25.750 the average price for a one bedroom 0:06:25.750,0:06:28.750 unit in Toronto has increased 0:06:28.750,0:06:30.940 to over $2000. 0:06:31.530,0:06:32.659 The pattern that we’ve seen 0:06:32.659,0:06:35.619 has been one of increasing social and 0:06:35.619,0:06:37.459 spacial inequality in this city. 0:06:37.459,0:06:40.439 So a pattern towards gentrification 0:06:40.439,0:06:42.199 in the urban core. 0:06:42.709,0:06:43.949 The demographic data 0:06:43.949,0:06:45.539 is really very clear. 0:06:45.539,0:06:48.969 It shows that downtown Toronto 0:06:48.969,0:06:52.339 and the corridors along subway lines 0:06:52.339,0:06:54.649 are essentially enclaves 0:06:54.649,0:06:56.479 for rich white people. 0:06:56.479,0:06:59.660 The majority of working-class, 0:06:59.660,0:07:02.360 heavily racialized population 0:07:02.360,0:07:03.710 is being pushed out 0:07:03.710,0:07:05.250 into the inner suburbs 0:07:05.250,0:07:07.900 or is struggling to stay 0:07:07.900,0:07:10.960 in a few remaining areas 0:07:10.960,0:07:13.720 in and around downtown Toronto, 0:07:13.720,0:07:15.810 including places like Parkdale 0:07:15.810,0:07:18.950 and the Queen and Sherbourne area. 0:07:18.950,0:07:21.499 Rising house prices in Toronto 0:07:21.499,0:07:24.169 have also created a situation where 0:07:24.169,0:07:26.829 many young professionals in the market 0:07:26.829,0:07:28.500 for their first homes 0:07:28.500,0:07:30.130 have been priced out of the city. 0:07:30.130,0:07:31.379 So we’re seeing a lot of young 0:07:31.379,0:07:34.499 professional people trying to buy property 0:07:34.499,0:07:36.319 in cities like Hamilton. 0:07:36.519,0:07:38.509 The city of Hamilton’s cool quotient 0:07:38.509,0:07:40.459 has been on the rise for some time, 0:07:40.459,0:07:42.030 but the prosperity that’s got some 0:07:42.030,0:07:43.820 celebrating has others worried about 0:07:43.820,0:07:45.650 whether the urban renaissance there 0:07:45.650,0:07:47.220 could be leaving some people behind. 0:07:47.220,0:07:54.499 Hamilton is a mid size city in southern Ontario[br]and for most of its history, Hamilton was 0:07:54.499,0:07:55.819 a large steel manufacturer. 0:07:55.819,0:08:00.419 It’s still known as the “Steel Town”[br]although for years now, the steel industry 0:08:00.419,0:08:05.030 has been shrinking, and now it’s trying[br]to essentially recreate itself as a “artistic 0:08:05.030,0:08:10.550 hub” and kind of draw in creative professionals[br]from the greater Toronto Area. 0:08:10.550,0:08:16.740 Because of Hamilton’s physical proximity[br]to Toronto, we have kind of a secondary wave 0:08:16.740,0:08:19.669 of gentrification happening in Hamilton. 0:08:19.669,0:08:27.301 The province of Ontario has regional population[br]targets and a general idea about where they 0:08:27.301,0:08:29.979 want to see population growth happening. 0:08:29.979,0:08:34.700 In order to facilitate this and in order to[br]integrate some of the metropolitan areas, 0:08:34.700,0:08:39.328 they’ve invested in larger scale transportation[br]infrastructure. 0:08:39.328,0:08:43.889 One such initiative is the Go Transit Network[br]which is a fleet of busses and trains which 0:08:43.889,0:08:47.459 link commuters from the greater Toronto Area. 0:08:47.459,0:08:51.600 Hamilton has two new Go Transit Hubs in the[br]works. 0:08:51.600,0:08:54.430 One in the east and one in the north of downtown. 0:08:54.430,0:08:58.890 Both of these are aimed at making Hamilton[br]more attractive as a potential bedroom community 0:08:58.890,0:08:59.890 of Toronto. 0:08:59.890,0:09:05.970 And beyond that, the province is also funding[br]a light rail transit or LRT line in Hamilton 0:09:05.970,0:09:12.100 which is going to run the length of the lower[br]city from Mcmaster University in the west, 0:09:12.100,0:09:16.240 out to Stoney Creek in the very east end of[br]the city. 0:09:16.240,0:09:21.620 This project is really going to open up the[br]city to gentrification. 0:09:21.620,0:09:29.250 This is essentially a state led strategy of[br]urban intensification and the levels of development 0:09:29.250,0:09:33.700 that accompany it. 0:09:33.700,0:09:37.420 Despite the upheaval and mass displacement[br]that it brings in its wake, gentrification 0:09:37.420,0:09:42.560 is usually a pretty gradual process, and one[br]that traditionally tends to take place in 0:09:42.560,0:09:43.560 stages. 0:09:43.560,0:09:49.390 Stereotypically, it starts with artists, students[br]and hipsters of various stripes moving into 0:09:49.390,0:09:55.355 a working-class neighbourhood, drawn to the[br]area by its cheap rents. 0:09:55.355,0:09:59.070 These new arrivals bring with them increased[br]social capital and disposable income, and 0:09:59.070,0:10:00.690 soon a host of new cafes, restaurants, bars[br]and art galleries begin to spring up to cater 0:10:00.690,0:10:01.690 to their tastes. 0:10:01.690,0:10:07.440 From there, the area starts to get a buzz,[br]and real estate agents begin promoting it 0:10:07.440,0:10:08.720 as an up-and-coming neighbourhood. 0:10:08.720,0:10:15.260 Homeowners decide to cash in on rising property[br]values, while long-standing working-class 0:10:15.260,0:10:19.090 and racialized tenants are priced, or otherwise[br]pushed out. 0:10:19.090,0:10:23.700 More middle-class residents move in, rents[br]go up... and the cycle repeats until the area 0:10:23.700,0:10:26.740 is completely transformed into a sterile playground[br]for the rich. 0:10:26.740,0:10:30.960 That's how the story goes, anyway. 0:10:30.960,0:10:36.360 In reality, this oversimplified formula for[br]gentrification ignores the important role 0:10:36.360,0:10:37.360 that developers, finance capital, police and[br]urban planners at various levels of government 0:10:37.360,0:10:38.360 play in coordinating the process. 0:10:38.360,0:10:39.360 But even when all those variables are factored[br]in, the fact remains that gentrification generally 0:10:39.360,0:11:03.430 still takes years to play out... for the simple[br]reason that it's hard to displace large numbers 0:11:03.430,0:11:07.920 of poor people from their homes in one fell[br]swoop. 0:11:07.920,0:11:11.350 Except of course... when the powerful forces[br]pushing gentrification get a little helping 0:11:11.350,0:11:12.350 hand from the even more powerful forces of[br]Mother Nature. 0:11:12.350,0:11:13.399 You’ve got Pagoda’s over there, you’ve[br]got the Church of Yoga over here, you’ve 0:11:13.399,0:11:16.029 got the Uber building down the street, so[br]you’ve got all these little spots here and 0:11:16.029,0:11:21.149 there that are quickly making it so this is[br]actually a high traffic area of primarily 0:11:21.149,0:11:24.650 white people that are not from here carrying[br]yoga mats. 0:11:24.650,0:11:29.920 That’s what this area, it used to be a very[br]poor area, got replaced with. 0:11:29.920,0:11:34.970 I’ve seen this city go through changes in[br]my life. 0:11:34.970,0:11:41.750 The building of the Crescent City Connection-[br]that bridge transformed this community in 0:11:41.750,0:11:43.780 a multitude of ways. 0:11:43.780,0:11:45.839 With that bridge came urban renewal. 0:11:45.839,0:11:53.750 One of the oldest African Communities was[br]displaced in order to build a housing project. 0:11:53.750,0:11:57.139 The third would be Betsy, Hurricane Betsy. 0:11:57.139,0:12:02.410 Because of Besty, people that would normally[br]be still living down by the Bayou or the 9th 0:12:02.410,0:12:05.339 ward, would have just remained in those areas. 0:12:05.339,0:12:12.210 But because of the devastation of those communities,[br]it forced them to come into a community that 0:12:12.210,0:12:16.630 was being rebuilt and reborn, and then Katrina. 0:12:16.630,0:12:22.389 Out of all of them, Katrina was the worst. 0:12:22.389,0:12:25.870 It had the most devastating impact. 0:12:25.870,0:12:27.410 I moved to New Orleans in 2014. 0:12:27.410,0:12:32.829 I’m from Venezuela and my country’s consulate[br]had closed down in Miami so I came here to 0:12:32.829,0:12:33.829 get my passport. 0:12:33.829,0:12:38.089 There was also some immigration restrictions[br]that encouraged me to move here. 0:12:38.089,0:12:44.199 A big factor was connected to gentrification,[br]which is moving here because housing was more 0:12:44.199,0:12:50.399 affordable after Katrina and because employment[br]was something I could find here more accessible 0:12:50.399,0:12:52.170 than in South Florida. 0:12:52.170,0:12:58.740 Because of Katrina and the great displacement[br]of local communities after Katrina and during 0:12:58.740,0:13:05.370 Katrina, to be a guest in this city and to[br]be a resident in this city post Katrina, and 0:13:05.370,0:13:10.860 be a respectful guest, you have to be very[br]aware of the racial dynamics of who has been 0:13:10.860,0:13:15.700 displaced and who has been the demographic[br]replacing the people who are no longer able 0:13:15.700,0:13:25.360 to come back to the city, alongside with millions[br]of dynamics that go anywhere from microagressions 0:13:25.360,0:13:30.440 to being a major player of gentrification[br]and in the systems that are negatively impacting 0:13:30.440,0:13:36.020 and negatively affecting the communities here. 0:13:36.020,0:13:42.410 Katrina was also the very first major disaster[br]where Fema came under homeland security. 0:13:42.410,0:13:50.130 The first two weeks after Katrina, it was[br]all about security. 0:13:50.130,0:13:54.910 You know, it felt like all those that matter[br]had left. 0:13:54.910,0:13:58.769 Those who was left in the city, don’t even[br]really matter. 0:13:58.769,0:14:01.029 And they made that crystal clear by their[br]action. 0:14:01.029,0:14:06.240 With that and the advent of disaster capitalism. 0:14:06.240,0:14:15.900 Seeing everything from trash removal, to the[br]removal of bodies- was held up until certain 0:14:15.900,0:14:17.940 individuals got they contracts. 0:14:17.940,0:14:25.649 You had billions of dollars that was allocated[br]to a city with a population of less than half 0:14:25.649,0:14:26.649 a million. 0:14:26.649,0:14:27.649 Billions. 0:14:27.649,0:14:32.600 But it impacted no one that really had the[br]needs. 0:14:32.600,0:14:37.860 The needs of the community have gone unaddressed[br]and instead what has been prioritized has 0:14:37.860,0:14:43.920 been profit and the passing of policies that[br]have been geared towards making profit from 0:14:43.920,0:14:45.670 the displacement of people. 0:14:45.670,0:14:50.210 Looking at prisons and the jail systems now,[br]and how much of the money that the government 0:14:50.210,0:14:58.730 gives is still going towards allegedly restoring[br]or rebuilding or expanding the jail or the 0:14:58.730,0:15:04.520 prisons or rebuilding or expanding new hospitals[br]which are more for profit and they’re not 0:15:04.520,0:15:05.759 as affordable. 0:15:05.759,0:15:11.860 With all these examples you can see how the[br]city systemically is still taking money from 0:15:11.860,0:15:16.949 the disaster and still profiting from the[br]displacement of the community here and investing 0:15:16.949,0:15:22.420 that money in for profit projects that are[br]geared towards tourists or geared towards 0:15:22.420,0:15:29.560 upper class guests or upper class residents[br]as opposed to working class communities and 0:15:29.560,0:15:39.980 poor communities, and particularly communities[br]of colour which was the majority of people 0:15:39.980,0:15:40.980 in New Orleans before Katrina. 0:15:40.980,0:15:41.980 People are being priced out of their homes. 0:15:41.980,0:15:48.930 A unit that was maybe 500 during pre-Katrina,[br]now was somewhere around 12. 0:15:48.930,0:15:55.560 Developers are coming in, and now you have[br]the advent of the Air B&B, you know you have 0:15:55.560,0:16:01.620 a New Orleans that is constantly being transformed[br]around us. 0:16:01.620,0:16:08.950 You see a lot of whites and others coming[br]in to predominantly African American community. 0:16:08.950,0:16:09.950 Directly after Katrina, everybody basically[br]had to evacuate the city. 0:16:09.950,0:16:15.980 A lot of the housing that could have been[br]restored, was not restored. 0:16:15.980,0:16:22.420 Instead it was taken down and new housing[br]that’s not affordable was built up or businesses 0:16:22.420,0:16:23.540 were built up. 0:16:23.540,0:16:28.910 In general, we’ve seen almost no efforts[br]to bring back people that were displaced by 0:16:28.910,0:16:37.779 Katrina, and instead we’re seeing efforts[br]to continue to profit from making more tourist 0:16:37.779,0:16:38.779 hot spots. 0:16:38.779,0:16:42.300 The industry that’s really running the city[br]is tourism. 0:16:42.300,0:16:43.300 White tourism. 0:16:43.300,0:16:45.819 And it’s controlled by white dollars. 0:16:45.819,0:16:51.519 And they control not only the white tourism,[br]but they control about 90 percent of the black 0:16:51.519,0:16:52.519 tourism. 0:16:52.519,0:16:57.420 A lot of the money that’s being given to[br]New Orleans from the government is going to 0:16:57.420,0:17:03.190 the expansion of prisons or the attempts at[br]building new prisons. 0:17:03.190,0:17:08.140 It’s a completely a for-profit organization,[br]so a lot of the money is being either misplaced 0:17:08.140,0:17:18.859 into making more profit from poverty and crime[br]and displacement, or it’s being put into 0:17:18.859,0:17:31.110 development that is to better assist the communities[br]that are not from New Orleans, so it’s being 0:17:31.110,0:17:45.750 put to renovate big businesses or to make[br]the business sectors and the upper class sector 0:17:45.750,0:18:11.620 and the tourism sector in the city better[br]and it’s not being distributed in the places 0:18:11.620,0:18:15.600 that it’s the most needed. 0:18:15.600,0:18:24.340 This is a city that’s ran by the police[br]because it’s ran by tourism. 0:18:24.340,0:18:32.809 And in order for tourism needs to survive,[br]it’s got to be protected. 0:18:32.809,0:18:43.270 But you try to tell the police- it don’t[br]have nowhere near the impact of poverty. 0:18:43.270,0:18:45.760 That’s the most cruel thing. 0:18:45.760,0:18:56.530 You know, you be living on a block, where[br]there only one person got a Mercedes, you 0:18:56.530,0:18:57.530 dig? 0:18:57.530,0:18:58.690 And you catchin’ a bus. 0:18:58.690,0:19:05.480 Ten years ago, the international financial[br]system nearly collapsed. 0:19:05.480,0:19:13.780 A historically unprecedented housing bubble[br]in the United States burst, setting off a 0:19:13.780,0:19:36.250 chain reaction that ended up threatening the[br]institutional pillars of global capitalism 0:19:36.250,0:19:39.630 itself. 0:19:39.630,0:19:52.231 As millions of people lost their homes, governments[br]around the world scrambled to bail out the 0:19:52.231,0:19:57.360 banks and pump money back into the global[br]economy. 0:19:57.360,0:20:00.010 But rather than spending that money on rebuilding[br]the local communities that they'd just destroyed, 0:20:00.010,0:20:02.130 the banks poured that money into a number[br]of so-called 'emerging economies'. 0:20:02.130,0:20:03.130 A prime example being Turkey. 0:20:03.130,0:20:04.720 Back in 2008, Turkey was already in the midst[br]of a construction boom, and the flooding in 0:20:04.720,0:20:05.720 of billions of dollars in foreign investment[br]only quickened the pace. 0:20:05.720,0:20:06.720 In the five years between 2011 and 2016, house[br]prices in Turkey doubled. 0:20:06.720,0:20:07.720 Much of this growth was concentrated in Istanbul,[br]the sprawling metropolis of over 15 million 0:20:07.720,0:20:08.720 people that once served as the capital of[br]the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, and which 0:20:08.720,0:20:09.720 for over two thousands years has remained[br]the primary bridge between the continents 0:20:09.720,0:20:10.720 of Europe and Asia. 0:20:10.720,0:20:11.720 The dizzying pace of urban transformation[br]in this former Ottoman capital has been closely 0:20:11.720,0:20:12.720 linked to the dictatorial ambitions of the[br]country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 0:20:12.720,0:20:13.720 who has sought to use the reconstruction of[br]Istanbul as a tool for consolidating power 0:20:13.720,0:20:14.720 around a new national identity. 0:20:14.720,0:20:15.720 If we talk about the global capitalist crisis,[br]it’s obvious that the states are trying 0:20:15.720,0:20:16.720 their best to get over this crisis with the[br]tool of urban gentrification because they 0:20:16.720,0:20:17.720 have the companies, they have the law making. 0:20:17.720,0:20:18.720 The capitalization process of Istanbul city[br]is not a new thing, it is a long term project 0:20:18.720,0:20:19.720 of the state. 0:20:19.720,0:20:20.720 We are talking about over 50 years. 0:20:20.720,0:20:21.720 The last 12 years, the process get faster[br]in the government of the AKP. 0:20:21.720,0:20:22.720 These urban gentrification projects always[br]has been resource of income for the state. 0:20:22.720,0:20:23.720 These projects has been widely spread and[br]they started to change the face of the city 0:20:23.720,0:20:24.720 and now they are making it more and more easier[br]to make this. 0:20:24.720,0:20:29.270 In the beginning, it was only possible to[br]destroy that building and make a new one with 0:20:29.270,0:20:33.190 a consensus of all people living in. 0:20:33.190,0:20:40.520 But now, they make it majority of people and[br]the state of emergency also helps to build 0:20:40.520,0:20:44.460 this legal process more and more easier. 0:20:44.460,0:20:50.890 For last four or five years, they are nationalizing[br]the private spaces. 0:20:50.890,0:20:57.450 By these practices, they are trying to change[br]the type of capitalist power. 0:20:57.450,0:21:03.539 It is also politic of homogenizing the people. 0:21:03.539,0:21:11.090 Deleting all cultures and force them to be[br]Muslim, force them to be Sunia Muslim, and 0:21:11.090,0:21:14.929 Turkish people, which is the identity of the[br]state. 0:21:14.929,0:21:23.590 For Istanbul, you can see there are big walls[br]which are coming from Ottoman or Byzantine 0:21:23.590,0:21:24.590 time. 0:21:24.590,0:21:28.809 Out of the walls, they have built the slums. 0:21:28.809,0:21:35.640 The builders of the Gejekondu Areas, slum[br]areas, are so called minorities. 0:21:35.640,0:21:42.070 It’s not just Alevis and Kurds, but also[br]Roma people. 0:21:42.070,0:21:47.790 People who had immigrated from village to[br]big cities like Istanbul. 0:21:47.790,0:21:54.440 From the beginning, these neighbourhoods like[br]Gazi Neighbouhood, like Bir Mayis Neighbourhood, 0:21:54.440,0:21:55.790 and CHKMUNTLU? 0:21:55.790,0:22:02.650 All these neighbourhoods were built with the[br]participation of the whole community. 0:22:02.650,0:22:06.260 And caring and thinking about of all the needs[br]of that community. 0:22:06.260,0:22:13.150 So, these slums means more than just spaces[br]to live, but it’s also a way of relationship 0:22:13.150,0:22:18.000 that people are caring about each other. 0:22:18.000,0:22:27.529 During 1960’s and 1980’s, many revolutionary[br]organizations have appeared, and this is important 0:22:27.529,0:22:35.179 because next residents of these regions will[br]be the organizers of the first actions against 0:22:35.179,0:22:41.610 the destruction policy of the state. 0:22:41.610,0:23:06.640 The Taksim riots started against the construction[br]of a mall. 0:23:06.640,0:23:10.420 The Gezi Park protests became so popular. 0:23:10.420,0:23:24.080 The rioters of Taksim/Gezi achieved the collectivization[br]of the park, and this is a great example of 0:23:24.080,0:23:31.350 how we can struggle against the gentrification[br]politics, against the space politics of the 0:23:31.350,0:23:32.710 states and the companies. 0:23:32.710,0:23:38.950 The meaning of the park, the meaning of the[br]space has been changed. 0:23:38.950,0:23:46.990 People got the control of the park and the[br]space has a political meaning. 0:23:46.990,0:23:57.980 When we look what happened after Gezi, that[br]riots, the people coming together and the 0:23:57.980,0:24:00.680 occupation of the Gezi Park becomes something[br]to hold and many people go on resisting after 0:24:00.680,0:24:03.500 the Gezi Park was evicted. 0:24:03.500,0:24:13.090 The social resistance was very high and people[br]were not afraid to go on the streets anymore, 0:24:13.090,0:24:26.809 and that also affected in a way urban gentrification[br]protests and many other protests, but as the 0:24:26.809,0:24:31.700 oppression become more and more visible, and[br]that social opposition became less and less 0:24:31.700,0:24:37.790 seen, that also has its effects on urban gentrification. 0:24:37.790,0:24:41.390 During one week, the Turkish state have been[br]killed over 10 young people. 0:24:41.390,0:24:48.360 We are not just talking about of a day, we[br]are talking about years where people have 0:24:48.360,0:24:53.190 been oppressed politically, socially and economically. 0:24:53.190,0:24:59.790 One of the first things that they are trying[br]to break is the relationship in these neighbourhoods. 0:24:59.790,0:25:03.450 The culture of resistance and the culture[br]of solidarity. 0:25:03.450,0:25:10.380 It is not just a struggle against the gentrification[br]projects. 0:25:10.380,0:25:20.880 It is against the violence and the terror[br]of the state. 0:25:20.880,0:25:24.320 These days, gentrification can often seem[br]inevitable. 0:25:24.320,0:25:29.039 It is, after all, a constant process firmly[br]anchored upon the sanctity of private property 0:25:29.039,0:25:36.880 and the unshakeable logic of the free market. 0:25:36.880,0:25:45.289 According to this cold logic, homes, and the[br]land that they are built on, are commodities 0:25:45.289,0:25:46.429 like any other. 0:25:46.429,0:25:50.030 It follows, then, that they can be bought[br]and sold... and if the people living there 0:25:50.030,0:25:52.980 don't hold the deed, there's not much they[br]can do to stop it. 0:25:52.980,0:25:55.899 Except, of course, there is. 0:25:55.899,0:26:00.380 Because despite what capitalist may claim,[br]our homes are not commodities like any other. 0:26:00.380,0:26:02.340 They’re much more than that. 0:26:02.340,0:26:07.030 People defending their homes have been primary[br]agents of struggle for the entirety of human 0:26:07.030,0:26:08.030 history. 0:26:08.030,0:26:11.970 From anti-colonial struggles waged by Indigenous[br]nations, to peasants taking up arms to defend 0:26:11.970,0:26:16.270 their lands from enclosure and theft... people[br]tend to fight hard for their homes. 0:26:16.270,0:26:19.980 And while things in cities are different,[br]and often much more complicated... the basic 0:26:19.980,0:26:21.500 principle is the same. 0:26:21.500,0:26:27.000 I think that it’s important for revolutionaries[br]and for anti-capitalists and anarchists who 0:26:27.000,0:26:31.370 want to fight a process like gentrification[br]which is multifaceted to actually be embedded 0:26:31.370,0:26:33.870 in the communities that are affected by gentrification. 0:26:33.870,0:26:38.440 The only way of actually stopping gentrification[br]is getting out in front of it, and in order 0:26:38.440,0:26:42.789 to get out in front of it, you need to actually[br]be living there. 0:26:42.789,0:26:46.679 You need to have social relationships with[br]the people who are going to be displaced, 0:26:46.679,0:26:48.840 and you need to help with them to fight. 0:26:48.840,0:26:52.140 And you know this is not, the sexiest type[br]of work. 0:26:52.140,0:26:58.049 You have to come in very humble and really[br]try and support the work that’s being done 0:26:58.049,0:27:03.159 by the people that are the most affected and[br]not trying to come into anyone’s community 0:27:03.159,0:27:07.789 with like a saviour complex, especially if[br]you’re white, to try and fix people’s 0:27:07.789,0:27:11.970 problems because usually there’s been communities[br]of people that have been facing those issues 0:27:11.970,0:27:15.650 for decades, if not hundreds of years. 0:27:15.650,0:27:22.270 I think that the left are often looking for[br]shortcuts. 0:27:22.270,0:27:29.179 Unfortunately, currently, the left is largely[br]based around academic spaces and, you know, 0:27:29.179,0:27:34.279 is not necessarily associated with the fabric[br]of working class people’s lives. 0:27:34.279,0:27:39.330 Ground level tenant driven organizing in buildings[br]is what’s actually making a lot of change. 0:27:39.330,0:27:43.929 People in their building can work together[br]build a moment, and fight in a way that they 0:27:43.929,0:27:49.600 can stop these companies from exploiting them[br]and kick them out of their homes. 0:27:49.600,0:27:54.360 Hundreds of residents here in Parkdale are[br]heading into their second month refusing to 0:27:54.360,0:27:57.210 pay rent in protest of rent hikes 0:27:57.210,0:28:02.919 Build working class organizations that are[br]independent from politicians, social service 0:28:02.919,0:28:04.490 agencies, or non-profits. 0:28:04.490,0:28:10.260 You can’t be beholden to anybody’s interests[br]other than our own. 0:28:10.260,0:28:16.190 It’s not going to be benevolent on the part[br]of landlords, or a change of heart on the 0:28:16.190,0:28:27.789 part of policy makers that’s going to lead[br]to the types of changes that tenants need 0:28:27.789,0:28:28.789 to see. 0:28:28.789,0:28:29.789 You have to create your daily life against[br]system. 0:28:29.789,0:28:30.789 You have to organize your own ways with people[br]that are not like the capitalist relationships. 0:28:30.789,0:28:31.789 You have to create solidarity. 0:28:31.789,0:28:32.789 You have to care about each other. 0:28:32.789,0:28:33.789 You have to take the responsibility of each[br]other and you have to be organized, thinking 0:28:33.789,0:28:41.940 about the needs of your community and the[br]people in your community. 0:28:41.940,0:28:52.039 That comes with responsibility of constantly[br]trying to bring visibility and attention and 0:28:52.039,0:28:56.970 voice and power to the people who are actually[br]affected by the injustices. 0:28:56.970,0:29:02.550 Fighting for ways that people can live affordably[br]in cities and build communities there, for 0:29:02.550,0:29:06.080 social purposes rather than for capitalist[br]accumulation. 0:29:06.080,0:29:12.111 People tend to be much more satisfied to just[br]gripe about things as they exist, than to 0:29:12.111,0:29:16.919 actually try to seek out and understand what[br]is fuelling the process and how they might 0:29:16.919,0:29:19.029 actually go about trying to stop it. 0:29:19.029,0:29:22.000 Housing is allocated by the market, it’s[br]not allocated according to social need. 0:29:22.000,0:29:25.750 And so, this is why you have these constant[br]and persistent problems that don’t seem 0:29:25.750,0:29:26.960 to go away. 0:29:26.960,0:29:34.029 Don’t be trapped in the dead ends presented[br]to us by political and legal systems. 0:29:34.029,0:29:37.690 We need to find our own ways to creatively[br]struggle in our own interests. 0:29:37.690,0:29:54.179 Everyday with your every action, you have[br]to fight against, you have to create for your 0:29:54.179,0:29:55.179 struggle. 0:29:55.179,0:29:59.500 Giving struggle against the strategies of[br]the companies but also strategies of the state. 0:29:59.500,0:30:05.790 And the state- it is an enemy that we have[br]to struggle. 0:30:05.790,0:30:09.500 Not just urban development projects - every[br]front. 0:30:09.500,0:30:11.350 You know, let the fire burn. 0:30:11.350,0:30:14.390 They ashes is good for cultivating the land. 0:30:14.390,0:30:16.220 You dig? 0:30:16.220,0:30:23.560 And I’m just plant a lot of seed. 0:30:23.560,0:30:27.230 Grow something else up. 0:30:27.230,0:30:31.600 In our hyper-atomized and individualistic[br]societies, we have become incredibly isolated 0:30:31.600,0:30:33.660 and alienated from one another. 0:30:33.660,0:30:38.049 Those of us living in multi-residential apartment[br]blocks can often go years without communicating 0:30:38.049,0:30:41.280 with our neighbours, beyond the occasional[br]small-chat when getting on the elevator. 0:30:41.280,0:30:45.720 We're conditioned to keep our noses out of[br]other people's business, and to call the cops 0:30:45.720,0:30:49.700 if we see someone loitering, or if the neighbours[br]play their music too loud. 0:30:49.700,0:30:54.720 This divide and conquer strategy is intended[br]to keep us weak, and incapable of mounting 0:30:54.720,0:30:55.909 collective resistance to shared hardships. 0:30:55.909,0:31:01.039 So if we are to avoid the future that capitalists[br]have in store for us, in which our cities 0:31:01.039,0:31:02.169 are even further transformed into geographically[br]segregated and heavily militarized urban enclaves 0:31:02.169,0:31:08.920 of poverty and wealth, this is a mentality[br]we must overcome. 0:31:08.920,0:31:14.669 So at this point, we’d like to remind you[br]that Trouble is intended to be watched in 0:31:14.669,0:31:18.460 groups, and to be used as a resource to promote[br]discussion and collective organizing. 0:31:18.460,0:31:23.260 Are you interested in organizing your building,[br]or starting a collective to fight gentrification 0:31:23.260,0:31:24.279 in your neighbourhood? 0:31:24.279,0:31:28.100 Consider getting together with some comrades,[br]organizing a screening of this film, and discussing 0:31:28.100,0:31:29.310 where to get started. 0:31:29.310,0:31:33.179 Interested in running regular screenings of[br]Trouble at your campus, infoshop, community 0:31:33.179,0:31:35.309 center, or even just at home with friends? 0:31:35.309,0:31:36.309 Become a Trouble-Maker! 0:31:36.309,0:31:40.090 For 10 bucks a month, we’ll hook you up[br]with an advanced copy of the show, and a screening 0:31:40.090,0:31:43.760 kit featuring additional resources and some[br]questions you can use to get a discussion 0:31:43.760,0:31:44.760 going. 0:31:44.760,0:31:46.720 If you can’t afford to support us financially,[br]no worries! 0:31:46.720,0:31:51.100 You can stream and/or download all our content[br]for free off our website: sub.media/trouble. 0:31:51.100,0:31:58.139 If you’ve got any suggestions for show topics,[br]or just want to get in touch, drop us a line 0:31:58.139,0:31:59.600 at trouble@sub.media. 0:31:59.600,0:32:21.039 Stay tuned next month for our second installment[br]in this two-part series, as we take a look 0:32:21.039,0:32:25.790 at three more cities facing the onslaught[br]of gentrification, and how people there are 0:32:25.790,0:32:27.690 fighting back. 0:32:27.690,0:32:49.409 This episode would not have been possible[br]without the generous support of Fernando, 0:32:49.409,0:32:51.420 and Miki. 0:32:51.420,0:33:01.260 Now get out there, and make some trouble!