Join Sustain Penn State for the next film in its Intersections film series on the theme of “What Else Is Possible?”

Our January film is Razing Liberty Square, the story of the first segregated public housing project in the U.S., which was built in Miami, Florida. Built in a walled-off section in the uplands of the center of the city, Liberty Square was real estate deemed undesirable in the early 20th century because it was so far from the beach. Fast forward to the 21st century, and that same location is suddenly highly desirable in an era of rising sea levels and climate change. Suddenly, the largely black community is being besieged by developers and city officials, promising that they can provide better public housing tomorrow if residents will only give up their homes today to allow a private development to move in. In other words, climate gentrification.

Access to affordable housing is a growing challenge across the entire U.S., with problems of: lack of housing supply, lack of construction labor, rising material costs due to tariffs, a mismatch of where housing stock is located versus where people are moving, zoning restrictions, inadequate transportation networks, and more. But climate change is only scrambling these problems even more and intersecting with issues of environmental justice. Come explore all these issues through this film that highlights determined citizens fighting to provide the best possible outcomes for their communities, even when they’re not sure what those outcomes should be.

Following the film we will have a panel discussion featuring experts on these topics.

Screening is free and open to all; pre-registration required here.