Working class communities of color in urban centers are in desperate need housing and development. But, too often, "development" is a code word for gentrification and displacement of our communities and meeting the need for "housing" is immediately associated with building more affordable housing . Is development without displacement possible? Are there changes we need to make to the way affordable housing is maintained and produced? What kind of development do our communities envision, and how does organizing get us there? This session will explore grassroots strategies that engage working class, communities of color in organizing fights to address gentrification and the housing crisis. We are building a new kind of urban politics that asserts that everyone, particularly the disenfranchised, not only has a right to the city, but as inhabitants, have a right to shape it, design it, and operationalize an urban human rights agenda.
