After five sessions of Gentrification 101 that involved much study and discussion to help us better understand the subject and alternative forms of economic development, the leaders of the Crenshaw Subway Coalition, Hyde Park Organizational Partnership for Empowerment and Uplift Inglewood, began a process of identifying principles of community development. It is our hope that these principles will create a lens upon which to evaluate all proposed and current development and help us as we work to articulate a vision for a better and just future for our community.

Crenshaw Subway Coalition presents these draft seven principles for consideration by Crenshaw community residents. Our principles are highly inspired by the mission of the Right to the City Alliance, Cooperation Jackson, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and one of the country's leading resources for community wealth building the Democracy Collaborative.

Let us know what you think.

A. RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION

We believe that people of color have a right to space to cultivate their culture, maintain their unique history, build institutions, develop political power, and define the community’s future.

B. RIGHT TO HOUSING

We believe that decent housing is a human right, housing should be affordable and accessible to historically marginalized populations, and housing should be well integrated socially and geographically.

C. RIGHT TO PROTECTION FROM DISPLACEMENT

We believe that people’s homes need to be protected from market forces that cause displacement and changes in government policy over time.

D. RIGHT TO LAND

We believe that land and housing should be community-controlled through democratic structures and processes such as community land trusts and cooperatives.

E. COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING

We believe public resources should NOT go towards enriching large corporations and rich shareholders, but should instead go towards community wealth building models such as worker owned-cooperatives, housing cooperatives and community controlled land trusts.

F. RIGHT TO BUILD & MAINTAIN SMALL BUSINESSES

We believe that productive community-serving small businesses have the right to be sustained and maintained against corporate chains and corporate interests. 

G. RIGHT TO GOOD JOBS

We believe that everyone who wants a job should be provided a job with a living wage, good benefits, equal pay, and the right to unionize, especially traditionally marginalized populations such as the formerly incarcerated.