Intervention 1 - Patti Fasani

 

I decided to create a poster to address the issue of gentrification. My poster contains the basic information of what gentrification does and how it has already affected Jersey City. To summarize, the information on my poster says that gentrification often results in a loss of affordable housing, effectively pushing out many of the long-term residents. This of course means that the people who benefit from gentrification are not the long-term residents of an area being redeveloped, but the wealthier people who will take advantage of the changing demographics. Gentrification is also linked to homelessness. Jersey City, a very gentrified area of New Jersey has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the state, and it’s been increasing. Also, while the growth rate of Jersey City is somewhere around 18%, which rivals that of New York City’s, the percentage of people of color has decreased. People of color are especially at risk of displacement as a result of gentrification, as people of color often aren’t granted the same opportunities as their white counterparts and therefore often face higher rates of poverty. I’ve seen this happen in my own neighborhood. I’ve watched houses get renovated and turned into boring, cookie-cutter square houses, and white, wealthier residents move in, replacing the old, more often than not Hispanic residents. 

My intention behind creating this poster was to spread awareness of gentrification and the negative effects of it. I feel as though not many people truly know the full extent of what gentrification is and sometimes they kind of just see it as beneficial development of a neighborhood. Because of the lack of awareness of the harms of gentrification, as well as the fact that my own neighborhood is in the process of being gentrified, I felt it especially important to get this information out there in order to hopefully better inform the members of my community. Hopefully, people will see this poster and want to do further research on the subject or at least consider gentrification as the threat that it is. The Art of Activism states, “if facts are to be heard and heeded, they need to be made into engaging stories and compelling images that capture people’s attention and resonate with the ways they make sense of their world.” In order to capture the attention of the viewer I designed the sign to look like a real estate sign, simultaneously making it stand out as well as reference the way the issue at hand persists.  The article, “Why Art Activism?” states, “While it takes years of professional training to practice (or even understand) law, policy analysis, or governmental lobbying, creativity is a skill we all already possess and can learn to hone and use to great æffect.” Despite the fact that I have absolutely no experience with art or activism, I still think my poster at least accomplishes something, and I think it proves the merit of this quote. You don’t need to be an expert to create something.