No Place Like Home: A Timeline of U.S. Coercion of Land and Property

The original documentary series, City Rising, set for release in fall, examines the historical roots, economic role, and social consequences of gentrification. City Rising illuminates the journey of Californian neighborhoods fighting gentrification and advocating for housing justice and responsible development. 

To understand the dramatic changes happening in many of our city centers including; private and public investment, demographic shifts, and the displacement of vibrant communities, we have to contextualize these changes in a larger history of land appropriation and a racialized real estate market. The timeline below, while not a complete list, provides national and regional examples to California of laws and practices that fundamentally shaped today's land use policies and housing markets. Although the right to land and property is at the core of American values, few in the United States have access to land ownership or quality housing. Particularly, working class people and people of color have disproportionately bore the brunt of urban renewal projects and a housing shortage throughout history. 

How can we build an equitable future if we don’t reconcile our past?

Top image: Sign in front of housing tract reading "This tract is exclusive and restricted," courtesy of California Eagle Photograph Collection, USC Library