THE RHETORIC OF GENTRIFICATION

When exploring the work of Kraaijvanger Architects, specifically the project ‘Hart Van Zuid’, we can see that they are part of the bigger program Nationaal Programma Rotterdam Zuid (NPRZ).  Seeing as I have the ability to google, I quickly found a list of injustices happening with both the program and the people involved in these programs. Gentrification, what is happening in the South, can be very straightforward; like the woman I spoke to, who got her rent (illegally) increased by 150 a month and was forced to move because she was unaware of her rights. But gentrification can also be more subtle. Framing specific residents as dangerous, justifying ultimately trying to get rid of them, the constant dehumanisation of the poor and the working class, illegalising homelessness, etc. 

Using citations from dialogues with Vincent v/d Meulen, an architect from Kraaijvanger, Wim Reijnierse, the project manager from Hart Van Zuid, and Marco Pastors, the director of NPRZ, this project aims to make the audience judge the ethicality of urban development rhetoric. By giving these citations a new context and comparing them to four key definitions, I hope to help the viewer recognise this jargon in the future, make the speakers of these words question their own ethics, and be an aid in breaking the cycle of dehumanising rhetoric of minorities.