Gentrification: East Of Liberty

As some of you may know, I'm originally from Pittsburgh. To be more specific, The Hill District, which you will also hear mentioned in the video. I thought I would give you a bit of a glimpse of my city through a local filmmaker, Chris Ivey. Here are a few videos from his documentary series, East Of Liberty. The series focuses on the gentrification taking place in the neighborhood of East Liberty. I'm sure that your neighborhood or neighborhood's in your city have experienced or are experiencing the same thing.

This is a look at BLACK Pittsburgh:

“I was hired to document the tearing down of the high rises. At the same time I interviewed some of the residents who lived in the high rises and they weren’t happy at all because of the spectacle that was before them. They were really angry. It was their home, it was where they used to live, some for 30 years or more. Even though in many ways it wasn’t the best place to live it was all they had and to see strangers having fun by shooting paintballs at the block left them furious.”

And so began a journey of investigation in which previous silent rage was given space to talk.The film first debuted in the US last Autumn, and the response has astounded the director: “The reception here has been really incredible. It’s the most talked about thing in the city right now. There’s been loads of coverage in the papers and everybody around town is talking about it. All the screenings have sold out. The people at the screenings are really passionate – they’re always asking what they can do to get involved.” - Chris Ivey

For more info on the documentary please check out: EastOfLiberty.com