WNYC Podcast: There Goes the Neighborhood

Intro:

Brooklyn has been going through significant change in recent years. It has become one of the most desirable places to live in the country. This is reflected in the increasing prices in the housing and rental markets. When the process of gentrification occurs in such a large scale, such as is happening in Brooklyn today, there are always winners and losers. Because of this the issue of gentrification is complex.

The essential questions that you will attempt to answer in this unit are,

Who are the stakeholders in this issue?

What makes this issue so complex?

Knowing this, what can be done?

Essential Vocabulary:

Stakeholder: Someone who has something to gain and/or lose

For the issue of gentrification in Brooklyn stakeholders may be the following:

Long-time resident, newcomer to a neighborhood, developers, Mayor de Blasio, real estate agents, low income residents, middle income residents, upper income residents, minority residents, etc.

Task While listening to the Podcast:

Take notes on the different Stakeholders you meet as you listen to the podcast,

Who are they?

Where are they from?

What do they have to gain?

What do they have to lose?

How important is what they want/need to the wants/needs of the greater good of NYC?

Where to find the podcast (you must listen to a total of 5 and episode 1 & 9 are mandatory):

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/neighborhood/

Students will be assessed in two ways:

1. An informal structured seminar that answers these questions.
2. A small presentation for someone else on these issues.  Presentations may take the form of any of the following:

• rap/poem
• PowerPoint presentation
• Speech
• Work of art
• Other (talk to Salak)