Gentrification’s insidious violence: The truth about American cities

[KamaAina]

19. Tom Bates is plotting against low-income housing?!

for those of you playing along at home, Bates is the longtime mayor of Berkeley who sees himself as carrying on Berkeley's proud progressive tradition, although fewer and fewer of us do. Kriss Worthington (a real progressive on Berkeley City Council) or another challenger needs to hit him on this. Hard. Especially with the homeless population growing, because of the Bush-ruined economy and the neighboring town of Albany "clearing out" a large homeless encampment on the Bay shore. (many of the people evicted have occupied a freeway underpass in Berkeley)

Oh, and low-income for-profit workers need housing, too. Berkeley has a housing impact fee on new market-rate development, like the luxury Arpeggio condos downtown (this was unheard-of in Berkeley until recently); this is because the affluent residents will go to Starbucks, Subway, etc., and the baristas and sandwich artists have to live somewhere.