Is this the best context to wrestle with the big questions of gentrification, oppression based on race or ethnicity, etc? What if the conversation was focused, honed in on more tangible questions? Can anyone present us with some good insight and analysis based on evidence of contemporary gentrification, the east bay, Oakland, and the neighborhoods in question? What are the implications for commercial renters and social change organizations like sudo room? Can anyone find a presenter for a sudo room weekly meeting so we can learn more? By the way, Shake Anderson is planning to share the story of saving from foreclosure Liberty Hall in West Oakland at 7:30 at the sudo meeting on Wednesday. // Matt ----- Reply message ----- From: "Sonja Trauss" <sonja.trauss(a)gmail.com> To: "Pete Forsyth" <peteforsyth(a)gmail.com> Cc: "sudo-discuss" <sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org> Subject: [sudo-discuss] Possible new sudo space Date: Tue, Nov 26, 2013 10:58 Just because that's the usual context for gentrification. "pretty mixed" in that context meant in the interests and jobs of the residents. I meant w o is already home to many anarchists/ makers/ artists. Not clear though, fair. I should look up the race breakdown though. It's 65% black I think and the rest Asian Latino and white. Not in that order, I don't remember the order. On Tuesday, November 26, 2013, Pete Forsyth wrote: Sonja, given that -- as you say -- West Oakland is "pretty mixed" racially and culturally, what is it that leads you to conclude that Amber was talking about black people, and commenting on race? Pete On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 10:13 AM, Sonja Trauss <sonja.trauss(a)gmail.com> wrote: Yeah you need to give black people more credit. Did you know, some of them like coffee shops also? some of them can read? Some of them have computers? Some of them might become sudo members? Black people are pretty similar to white people and like lots of the same things!!! Wow. In any case w. O. Is pretty mixed. There are lots burners and anarchists there that would like sudo room too. My roommate Randall will be there every day if you move to 8th and Alice. Listen if anyone on this list is actually worried about the harmful effects of gentrification, I'm happy to brainstorm how to accomplish these two specific goals:Under no circumstances should the west Oakland housing projects move or be converted. (This will not be a real concern for 25 years, but still) Make new building in w o very very easy. The main attractive feature of w O is cheapness of rent. We still have plenty of empty space. There is no reason that supply tightness should cause rents to rise for 50 more years SO LONG AS ANTI GENTRIFICATION concerns DONT PREVENT NEW BUILDING. On Tuesday, November 26, 2013, Pete Forsyth wrote: Everybody has different views on gentrification. But speaking for myself, the kind that bothers me is the high-security condos with on-site parking where rich people get cheap real estate and then have zero incentive or inclination to engage with their neighbors. They drive to work, drive to Whole Foods, and in between sit behind bars on their balconies while their neighbors push shopping carts by their fortresslike front doors to the recycling center. Sudo Room *exists* to build community. It may not build the kind of community that everybody wants to participate in, but it does offer opportunities that don't exist absent a hacker space. It's hard for me to imagine Sudo Room doing damage to its neighborhood, and even if something unexpected happened, I think its community would act quickly to correct the problem. Pete On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 8:45 AM, AnimationAmber . <amberyadaanimation(a)gmail.com> wrote: It should be noted that aiming for a space in a "less-gentrified" neighborhood does overlook the possibility that Sudo's presence would have a gentrifying effect. Thoughts? -amber On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 9:06 PM, Marc Juul <juul(a)labitat.dk> wrote: Matt, Jenny and myself went and looked at another space that could potentially be a new sudo space. We've started gathering information about it here: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/8th_and_Alice My personal feeling about the space is: This is an awesome space with lots of natural light. It addresses two of the major concerns raised about The Omni in being two blocks from BART in a neighborhood that seems/feels safer than the area around MacArthur BART, and in being located in a less gentrified neighborhood. The one drawback in comparing it to the current space and The Omni is the lack of a big separate common area for events. It is _very_ similar to Noisebridge in almost every way. _______________________________________________ sudo-discuss mailing list sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss