Gentrification

“Whose block is it anyway?” narrates one of the most visible and contested shifts in the cityscape in the 21st century—gentrification.

The series explores gentrification in over 15 cities and historic neighborhoods in the United States. Ark Republic enlisted over a dozen storytellers; from long-form journalism to short docs, podcasts, photo stories and even creative writing, contributors sculpt an extensive and innovative lens in over 25 pieces of work.

Los Angeles ◊ Oakland ◊ Newark ◊ Wilmington, NC ◊ Spanish Harlem ◊ Brooklyn ◊ Inglewood ◊ Chicago ◊ Jacksonville ◊ Phoenix ◊ Seattle ◊ Mobile, AL ◊ East Village ◊ New Orleans ◊ San Francisco ◊ Atlanta ◊ Cleveland ◊ Phoenix

Namesakes: AfricaTown, a 153 year-ago-old Alabama community founded to preserve West African cultural ties, becomes sister-city with another Africatown, an initiative to save Black Seattle

October 28, 2019March 6, 2021

Gentrification/Major Collaborative Project

Africatown, two Black communities with the same name, located across the country from each other, face a similar challenge—involuntary out-migration.

The changing of San Francisco’s food, culture and identity

October 22, 2019December 10, 2019

Gentrification/Major Collaborative Project

Ark Republic followed up with Chef Wanda Blake on food culture in San Francisco. Through the waves of gentrification since the late

From Atlanta to Nigeria: A Conversation on Gentrification

October 20, 2019March 4, 2020

Gentrification/Major Collaborative Project

For Ark Republic’s gentrification series, urban planner and professor, Nmadili Okwumabua, tells of her time spent at town halls in the early

Post-Hurricane Katrina, three generations of New Orleans women remain in historic neighborhoods though gentrification makes it harder

October 19, 2019March 4, 2020

Gentrification/Major Collaborative Project

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated most Black neighborhoods in New Orleans, resulting in displacement for hundreds of thousands of people. Many did

The Garcetti-fication of Los Angeles: A Gentrification Cautionary Tale

October 17, 2019March 6, 2021

Gentrification/Major Collaborative Project

This year, Housing Is A Human Right released a sweeping investigative report about government-sanctioned gentrification in Los Angeles. Mayor Eric Garcetti stands