#mortgage crisis

[charmac]

[factcheckandchill]

Rough Realism and Realizations, A Visual Story of Neglect

I graduated high school with my eyes set on moving to Philadelphia. Mainly to attend Temple University and participate in the skateboarding culture that the city fostered. A culture communicated to me in my teenhood through YouTube videos of skateboarders and Tumblr posts.

Pop-Punk band ‘The Wonder Years’ used Philadelphia as a theme and backdrop in some of their music. Lines like “the fountain was off” from “Local Man Ruins Everything”, delivered in their extremely emo, punk, angsty style portrayed and delivered ideas of the city to people who might never have seen it before.

When it came to Philly, I saw a lot of the white working-class experiences in the media, whether it’s catchy and gritty pop punk, or low-class bar owners in South Philadelphia. Valid experiences that deserve portrayal.

Nevertheless, the idea of 'Philadelphia' mediated is a diluted version of the reality its majority experiences.

Philadelphia is not limited to those mediated experiences, which do reflect the experiences of some people. People who live in the central high rises have a different experience of the city than those who live in the various neighbourhoods of Philadelphia. I happened to live in North Philadelphia, close to the Temple University campus where I matriculated.

On a given day, tourists staying near sights like the liberty bell or the home where the Declaration of Independence was written, by slave owner Thomas Jefferson, wouldn’t come up to that area. Students of the university living temporarily in the area were not good guests and looked down upon the local residents for a variety of reasons, mainly related to their misfortune and lack of wealth.

Students sought out affordable housing close to campus, and the area, because of neglect by the city, was cheap.

Living there, many complained about the aesthetics and blamed local residents instead of the lack of funding for upkeep. Exacerbating the discomfort of residents. 

Lack of funding and student dissatisfaction was a great excuse for what the administration at Temple University was planning to do in the area. 

Temple University, my alma mater (well one of them), was actively pushing local residents, who the university was established for, out of the surrounding area. To build a goddamn stadium. This was unpopular with many students and those who lived in the area. The 2008 mortgage crisis made it easier for the university to do this.

This consideration for the football stadium started in 2015. Temple University was started as a night school for ministers-in-training to attend classes at night in a church. That is why its mascot is the Temple Owl. The consideration was immensely disconnected from the university’s history. 

Anyone living in North Philadelphia knew that it was ridiculous. The thumbprint of the area would be changed forever and it would just destroy the thumbprint of the area. Temple University’s administration claimed that this was going to help the community when in reality everyone knew that this would tear it apart further. From one end, youth were struggling to get adequate schooling due to the state’s gutting of funding for public schools in Philadelphia, and on the other end, landlords who did not live in Philadelphia were buying up row homes and as many buildings as they can (thanks to the mortgage crisis) and building cheaply made, “luxury” student accommodations that were too expensive for the local residents to rent.

The empty lots started to pile up as “investors” and Temple both were waiting for houses on either side of each lot to empty up. Meaning, be able to get the residents out.

Communities knew they had to stick together or no one will fare any better due to the systematic imposition on people’s lives.

Dinner time in some Philadelphia neighbourhoods wasn’t just a family occasion, they were a time of community survivalist action. I regret not doing more for the people. 

It went beyond North Philly to Kensington and South Philly. People who cared about the city and knew how it affected the residents personally knew this was unfair. Philly may become a "nicer", more "polite" city someday, but the people who made it Philly won't be there. Just like Brooklyn. 

Right-wing students were among the few who supported the stadium project. They saw little wrong in this and believed that if the residents of North Philadelphia wanted to stay in their homes, the homes that their families have lived in since before the inception of Temple University, then they should build up the ability to afford to do so. In other words, “if they want to keep their house, they should just have more money.”

Anyone coming from a poor, working-class environment knows that it's not as simple as working a bit and saving. The realities of life are much more complex in Philadelphia. Where food desserts are normal in North Philadelphia and you are doing well if you have 50 dollars leftover from your paycheck a month.

The view of houses ‘moving’ across the window before the sun set evoked excitement. At the time, Kensington was hosting political meetings of many leftist parties. The PSL and other parties were headquartered there, with the express intent of supporting the community. I enjoyed partaking when I could, but I have to say I might be more of an anarchist than a socialist - probably due to growing up in the middle east and being connected and aware of the community aspect that allowed my recent ancestors to survive. Maybe that’s why I could never commit to being as disciplined a comrade as the others, despite my regret of not doing more for the people I was living amongst. And looking back at it, I am glad I wasn’t committed to the ideals. But I continue to be committed to collective survival in the circles I do occupy. 

I see now that collective action is necessary for survival, but I have no material possibility at the moment to participate in that. You don’t live in a collection of buildings and famous streets. You live around people who are housed (if lucky) in those buildings. They are what make the city or town, and it in turn makes them.

Where do we go from here? I would ask someone who lives there. Someone who is struggling with housing issues, food access, and lack of school funding in Philadelphia.

[macdenlover]

partners in real estate and partners in life

[pigeonkitsch]

pov: spirits and such needed a rebrand

[macden]

[circus-clangen]

imagine they come across one of the non cat clans on their travels and are just like

"what the fuck is that thing" *pointing at various fictional animals*

Them @ my clangen of chickens I made on a whim

[youreeatingthedog]

More posters !

[My print shop]

[hottest-gay-bar-in-philadelphia]

Everyone knows and loves "Baby Boy" but I will always be thinking about Dennis' hands in this moment <3

[charliework16]

this was so insane

[godduh]

i am so normal about them (i'm not)

[charmac]

While I do love that in The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis Mac and Dennis truly had no reason at all to pretend to be a gay couple, it is funny that the "heterosexual explanation" for them doing that is probably bc Dee is kinda the only woman they know

[thelandofbritain]

Sir Howard Davies: Not that difficult to buy a home, says NatWest chair - BBC News

Out of touch with reality...or just a Tory liar?

'Sir' Howard Davies, in his ivory tower at NatWest Bank, clearly has either no clue about the lives of ordinary people, or is cynically denying the truth.

Is he a Tory donor or supporter?

If the average UK house price is over £250k, how many working people can lay their hands on over £25,000 in cash for a deposit, or earn at least £60,000-£80,000 plus per year, to qualify for a big enough mortgage?

Earnings haven't kept pace with property prices for years:

[translesbianvampire]

the staircase of the suburbs house & the mortgage crisis house are like, functionally the same. does this mean anything?

[kazisonline]

The ending of the episode, the chicken fight in The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis was so wholesome I'm smiling so hard

The clip is glitched in the middle but the ending is there and it's so sweet they're all so crazy dysfunctional happy and stupid together

[cosmoseinfeld]

i haven’t listened to/watched it yet but the vibe that i’m getting from yall’s reaction is this