I enjoyed reading How to Kill a City. One thing that stood out to me was a line from the conclusion about the foundation of America having a “gentrification narrative” (Moskowitz 215). This line reminded me of illegal things in the past that are modernized to continue racism and discrimination. This may also slow the progress towards an ungentrified future because it makes it harder for gentrifiers to change their mindset since it is deeply rooted. Since there is a gentrification narrative it is important that there is more community involvement. This was something we discussed throughout the program about the importance of not entering a community with a savior mentality.
How to Kill a City related to my experience in Detroit because gentrifiers are not properly interacting with community members and there are false advertisements about the impact of gentrification as far as different businesses coming to Detroit that are negatively impacting the surrounding neighborhoods. Or when new jobs are meant for Detroiters but the training takes place outside of the city. At my placement residents talk about the lack of healthy option in the community, which relates to the 7.2 square miles that are being gentrified and changing while the rest of Detroit remains the same.
