By M. Smith, Editorial Intern
While Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia touted development in the city as sign of progress at his State of the City address Jan. 9, many renters in Long Beach are fearing the impacts of gentrification.
Sixty percent of Long Beach’s residents are renters, but the cost of rent is soaring and low-income families can’t catch up, putting them at risk of homelessness. Local activists are taking it to the polls. In late January, tenants began collecting signatures for proposed rent control ballot measure. If voters approve the Long Beach Rent Control Ordinance residential rent control and “just cause for eviction” requirements, renter protections would be established in the city.
The tenants’ struggles are featured in KCET’s multi-platform documentary, City Rising.
Local housing advocates hosted a free screening of the KCETLink Media Group’s documentary special Jan. 24 at the Art Theatre of Long Beach. The screening was followed by an interactive panel discussion with Long Beach community leaders featured in the film. It showed glimpses of the six-chapter series focusing on six different cities, each facing gentrification and displacement.
City Rising touches on the deep discriminatory roots of gentrification and the mobilizing against high rents, which place people at risk of homelessness.
In the episode titled, Impact the drastic difference in investment between the developed downtown of Long Beach and the low-income communities that are in close proximity are compared. The episode gives a tour of The Current, a luxury high rise apartment complex. According to a downtown market study, there are 33,000 residents living in downtown Long Beach and 75 percent are low-income.
“If you look at Long Beach it fits a fantastic example of heavy investment downtown along the waterfront, massive gleaming buildings, and you go 3[or] 4 blocks away from that and seeing that there is virtually no investment in those communities at all,” said Anthony Iton, senior vice president of The California Endowment in the episode. “You need to balance the needs of development and the needs of renters who are much more vulnerable than property owners.”
The third installment of the docu-series, Return to the Cities shows the lack of ownership in low-income communities of color is a prominent issue in displacement. Rent is increasing and small businesses are being displaced. Local mom-and-pop shops can’t compete with big corporations. The rent increases also change demographics. Oakland, where rent also is increasing and small businesses are being displaced, is a primary example.
“The area … used to be predominantly black, I go there [now] and I don’t see black people anymore,” said Tonya Faison, founder of the Sacramento chapter of Black Lives Matter.
Boyle Heights is yet another community fighting gentrification. The historically Latino community was featured in the series struggling to preserve the landmark, Mariachi Plaza, from demolition. The episode concluded with the message that a statement is more effective if those affected take a stand.
“We’re not going to be able to do this unless we fundamentally believe in democracy, and … it’s best measure is who shows up” Iton said.
Learn more about how to get involved in advocating for fair housing at www.bhclongbeach.org or www.housinglb.org. All six chapters of City Rising are at www.kcet.org/shows/city-rising.