Our backyard has historically been neglected. People can call BASTA! NIMBY as much as they want but our backyard is full. Start storing stuff in yours…
B.A.STA! is a grassroots, barrio based, loose knit formation of residents, artists, activists, small business owners and allies creating a movement. The sole purpose of this movement is to prevent a football stadium/convention center from being built in the East Village of San Diego, just a few short blocks from our historic barrios… A stadium/convention center built one block from the Barrio Logan border (Commercial Ave), with an entertainment district around it featuring bars, clubs, restaurants, sports bars, market rate condo developments and more, will drive property values even higher and accelerate the gentrification process. This, in turn, will not only force out renting residents (Barrio Logan is predominantly a community of renters) but also small businesses, most of who don’t own the property they do business out of…
In Barrio Logan, and in similar communities throughout California, rich people have for years been buying up the houses and commercial properties for low prices. Then they fix them a bit, and sell then, or immediately raise the rent. Or they push us out (raza and Black people) and move in themselves. Within a few years they completely change the community and make it their own, while we get pushed out into other poor areas of the city. This process is called “GENTRIFICATION.” It is done so they can make millions of dollars off of our displacement. Look at downtown San Diego, or South Central LA, and see that all the “redevelopment” is not for us, but for them, and for the tourists. Even though tax money is often used to pay for all these things, gentrification is designed to primarily make the rich more rich.