The rise of the renter nation is not an isolated phenomenon; it results from a perfect storm of surging housing demand, a severe shortage of affordable rental units, declining or stagnant wages, and housing policy that favors higher income groups.
Up until recently, the tight-knit Oak Park community carried the stigma of being a neighborhood with a high poverty rate, gang violence and neglect. For a long time, that was mostly true.
Gentrification is not a force of nature, an inevitable economic trend or a preordained social phenomenon. It is the result of decisions made by real people who run institutions, seek to make profits, and are motivated by greed and power.
Since November, the number of Americans who recognize the importance of local organizing has grown dramatically, and the tenant movement has been ahead of the curve in mobilizing for change from the ground up.
At the border of three worldviews – native, colonial, and Anglo – medical care in Los Angeles by the 1850s blended empirical science, European and native folk traditions, and a large dose of medical hucksterism.