Neoliberalism

When 200 residents of the Lindley Court Apartments in Logan lost their homes with two hours’ notice on Saturday, June 21st, the building' fire alarm system didn’t work, raw sewage festered in the basement, putrid garbage piled up atop overflowing dumpsters, and there was no water because the copper pipes had been stolen.

When these guys say 'neighborhood activists' who do they really mean? What are the interests of a bank? Wachovia Foundation's Neighborhood Planning Workshop (Jun 24) The Wachovia Regional Foundation is again offering a series of workshops aimed at helping neighborhood activists through the steps of developing a neighborhood plan. Participants will learn how to identify the challenges, opportunities, and synergies that commonly emerge during a neighborhood planning process. Attending the workshop is particularly important if your organization is considering developing a neighborhood plan or applying for Wachovia Regional Foundation' Neighborhood Planning Grant. Workshops will be held in Philadelphia on June 24th and in Trenton on June 26th.<!--[if !vml]-->

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Movement for Justice in El Barrio in Philadelphia for two special events.

The East Harlem based organization of Mexican immigrants will link their local antigentrification work to the larger global struggle for dignity and against neoliberalism. The presentation will feature short videos documenting the dialogue between Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio and the EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) who send a message to those struggling for justice all over the world and include a special message for historically marginalized peoples.

After a brief cooling off period, we just had to round things out with the second part of the whimsical musings of some of our newest 'urban pioneers'. Welcome to Philadelphia (and kids, watch out for the anthrax ;) )!

This is the first installment of the most recent addition of the newsletter of the African American Business and Residents Association in Brewerytown. They have uncovered some of the pro-gentrification bloggers in the city and have tracked their conversations which are reproduced here, preceded by AABRA;s own community strategy as well as some basic background information.--------

While most new residents in North Philly live in peace with their neighbors, AABRA has uncovered an insidious network of other newcomers who are anti-community soldiers in the campaign to replace the poor of North Philly with the upper-income. Curiously, they have been documenting their contempt for North Philadelphians – and plans for your home – even as they smile at you in public. Today, we invite you to crash their secret party. Special Edition.

A UN report was released yesterday says that starting in 2008 a majority of the world's population will live in cities rather than rural areas for the first time ever in history. The report states that cities, especially smaller cities, are not planning for the shift. Services for the majority of city dwellers are not being created or maintained. Instead, city policytends to try to keep the poorout of cities through lack of affordable housing and public transportation. Read a story about the report below:

NPRinterview with president and CEO of the Center City District in Philadelphia, Paul Levy, and his group's plans for the development of Center City.

Listen to this show via Real Audio

Levyarguesthat what's good for Center City is good for all of Philadelphia.He laysouta vision of a further 'transformed' Center City and details specific plans that the Center City District will push for.

PHILADELPHIA'S BALLOT BOX

They expected us to give up when they threatened our vote. Instead, we will implement the most ambitious voting campaign in recent Philadelphia history.

If the referendum is taken off the ballot, we will hold our own election. We will set up tables at polling locations on May 15th so that people can vote on ballot question #1.

We call it: Philadelphia's ballot box.

The Reinvestment Fund has published their Ford-funded study of predatory lending in Philadelphia, Lost Values, available at:

Lost Values

This study contains a wealth of data from property and foreclosure records, interviews and other primary sources. Parts of it were previously available only in an abbreviated Powerpoint version. The illustrations are gorgeous.