‘Defying Displacement’: A Revolutionary Study of Gentrification

ARD managing editor Andrew Lee’s first book, Defying Displacement: Urban Recomposition and Social War, is now available to preorder from AK Press. He talks about his latest book and unpacks what people get wrong about gentrification.

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Okay Andrew, what’s this book about? 

Defying Displacement uses gentrification to explore the contemporary economic forces reshaping global cities. Though collective dispossession and displacement certainly aren’t new, the systematic removal of urban, working-class communities of color is a relatively recent phenomenon. Based on the analyses of community organizers from around the country, I try to draw out some ideas about how the changing nature of cities might affect the strategies and tactics we use to fight for a better world. 

I know you’ve worked in this space for a while. What’s your goal for this book, and how does it amplify your current initiatives? 

I participated in an anti-displacement fight in California that led to the creation of the South Bay Community Land Trust, and I’m currently a member of the No Arena in Chinatown Solidarity group in Philadelphia. Struggles to defend urban communities are some of the most militant and vibrant campaigns in cities across the country, but they’re sometimes viewed as of limited interest to outsiders. Defying Displacement shows that these neighborhood struggles directly confront the most powerful institutions in the global economy. These are fights we should all actively support because they’re crucial to determining if any of us can live in the kind of communities we deserve. 

You’ve been mobilizing people around this topic for years, both at the Anti-Racism Daily and in community. What do you think people get wrong about gentrification? 

Political and corporate elites often portray gentrification as an inevitable, natural process above human control. They then act like they’re trying to mitigate its negative effects as best they can, as you might respond to a hurricane or earthquake. In reality, economic displacement is a public policy goal. Gentrification is actively produced and is often a wildly profitable venture for those who aren’t being displaced.

What surprised you most as you moved through the writing process? 

I was struck by how relevant I found the analyses of George Jackson and Huey Newton in thinking through gentrification today—though they were writing half a century ago at the beginning of modern mass displacement. I also had the disheartening realization about halfway through the writing process that books are, in fact, quite long.