Kelly Anderson's documentary My Brooklyn tells the story of gentrification through the lens of corporate interests in urban planning.
Kelly Anderson's documentary My Brooklyn focuses on the effects of rezoning on gentrification.
A Brooklyn resident for 25 years, Anderson collaborated with race historian Craig Wilder to reveal that gentrification is not just about people moving in and out of neighborhoods. She "decided not to dig into the well-worn territory" of the gentrification story, which highlights the displacement of black and Latino groups by white residents, but focused her narrative on the effort of corporations to "revitalize" Downtown Brooklyn and Fulton Mall by lifting building height restrictions, building luxury condos, offering property tax incentives to prospective buyers and undercutting small businesses like pizza parlors, barbershops and bookstores.
The documentary features failed efforts by the Downtown Brooklyn community and its representatives like Families United For Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) to present their case to the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCED), and includes interviews with prominent locally bred musicians, shoppers and business owners who feel like they are fighting a losing battle.
The film is playing through Feb. 3 at reRun Theatre in DUMBO.
FULL STORY: The Real Story Behind the Gentrification of Brooklyn

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

New Jersey Affordable Housing Law Turns 50
The Mount Laurel Doctrine tasks each city and town with creating enough affordable housing to meet their needs, but half a century after its passage, the law still faces opposition in some parts of the state.

NYC Outdoor Dining Won’t Include Booze — For Now
Hundreds of restaurants will be unable to serve alcohol in their outdoor dining areas this summer due to a delay in permitting.

San Francisco Turns On California’s First Speed Cameras
The city is the first in the state to use automated traffic enforcement to reduce speeding and traffic deaths.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
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