Kalistani Major History

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Civil Protest over Demolitions intensifies
Opposition being "planted by liberals" says Sulari NSP Chief
Sulari, Suldanor
August 18, 5361


Pro-revitalization advocates clash with landlords at Quarterly meeting in Sulari

As urban renewal deepens, and more old neighborhoods are demolished, several Mainland cities were rocked by civil unrest for the second week in a row. Socialist Partisans and supporters of the proposals to revitalize Kalistan's crumbling cities clashed with people supposedly representing Landlord and developer associations in Suldanor and Vrassa. The protests turned violent as tensions became heated, and by the time the clashes were quelled, 14 men and women were injured, including the vice president of one of Sulari's largest development firms, Sun Coast Ltd., which aims to purchase and develop much of the land which is being demolished to build upscale town homes.

The term "gentrification" has long been associated with this kind of program, as working and poor families fear that their neighborhoods are being demolished and the land being sold to wealthy developers who intend to replace old homes with single and two-and three-family row homes which they intend to sell at a premium. Landlords and developers are working together to put significant pressure on district governments to both direct the NSP to places where they think development will be most profitable, as well as to grant permits for construction of smaller multi family homes, rather than highrise apartment complexes that can house as many as 20 families, but which are controlled by the State and are open to all people.

"We have seen these developers working with district and city governments to pick and choose the places they want to build," said fair housing advocate Ronald Peerson. "We have evidence that those guys also hire goons to stop us when we go to the District government to complain. It's simply outrageous. And for what? We lose our homes to this 'renewal' so they can basically take our land, get the benefit of all this public money the Government is dumping into our streets and sewers and everything, and then kick all the poor people out of their neighborhood so someone who makes K100,000 don't have to see us when they are driving to their stupid ass yoga appointments? Seriously?"

The head of the Suldanor NSP, who is responsible for both the demolition and the rebuilding actually came down on the side of the anti-gentrification protestors. "We have evidence," said District Director Hanna Johnson, "that protestors are being planted, and are starting problems. Of the people who were hurt here in the clashes last week between the homeowners and the people supposedly supporting the rights of developers and owners, it was reported that all dozen or so were on the protestors' side. But then we found out that one of the so-called protestors was none other than Blake White, the VP of Sun Coast (one of the largest developers in Sulari and a company who was recently granted access to more than 47 recently cleared lots on the city's northwest side.) We think he was in the crowd to try incite the crowd to violence or to serve as an inside person if anything was going down."

The NSP has urged the National Government to take a larger role in deciding who gets what in the urban renewal project, but there are signs that the Socialist-dominated government is reluctant to play a larger role. "The law says 'The state owns and maintains all housing'," said Internal Minister Samuel Mars. "Practically speaking, the Republic has tasked that issue to Municipal Governments, for a number of very good reasons. Not only are there nearly 50 separate municipal entities in the Republic, but also hundreds of county and District entities all of which have different housing needs and situations. Some are rural, some are densely packed. If the Republic played an active role, it would need to remain focused at the structural level: A strong central government cannot possibly control the process that ensures houses to all. Instead our focus at the national level should be to ensure that all have a home, and leave the policy to more local entities." The National Government has been roundly criticized by citizens and local leaders for neglect, and leaving poor and working people to the avarice of for profit landlords and their allies in District Governments.

"We do need to make sure that the citizens, especially those who are displaced, get access to homes as they are displaced by renewal," Mars added. "This is a role of the National Government. And we do bear responsibility for the dilapidation that renewal is meant to address. But since practical policy implementation lies, I think correctly with the Municipal and District Governments, the role of the Republic has to be limited to establishing the policy for the Republic and then devoting the resources necessary to carry out the letter and spirit of the law. We may have some things we can do around rent capping. It's a problem I agree. But response to it involves a balancing act and occasionally, my side just doesn't win."

Anti-gentrification activists were not satisfied with that response from the National Government. "Housing is a human right!" declared Peerson. "The Republic is supposed to guarantee that needs are met. I don't care how they do it: If they have to, they should just nationalize all this property and get the NSP to build the houses themselves. I'd rather have public housing, so would my family, and so would all these people out here on the street, than ever pay another cent to any of these greedy landlords."

Sun Coast issued a statement, decrying the arrest of their Vice President White. "He was not a member of the mob!" said the statement. "He was simply there to attempt to ascertain whether the protestors would meet with our company peacefully so we could find out what they are so angry about. From where we sit, we are only doing a good thing for the people of this city! We believe that if the goal is to raise revenue, the only way you can do that is with neighborhoods that generate money. Public housing is definitely not the answer--no reasonable person would ever support something so destructive to economic prosperity and sane city planning."

The protests are on going, and the demolition continues, for the time being. Whether more will be arrested or the violence will intensify remains to be seen.