When developers invested hundreds of millions in rebuilding Liberty Square’s public housing as mixed-income, organizers discovered what it really takes to fight back.

Valencia Gunder, a community organizer from Miami's Liberty City neighborhood, says there was no playbook for community-led resilience and resistance, especially when it comes to climate gentrification. Featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary “Razing Liberty Square,” Gunder recounts how rich Miami residents moved inland as sea levels rise. Liberty City is the region’s highest elevation, suddenly making it more desirable. 

She and other organizers pushed back against a project that claimed it wouldn’t displace residents even while welcoming higher-income earners. They rallied neighbors by knocking on doors, preparing residents for meetings. Along the way, Gunder bought a home in her neighborhood, a move she calls “my biggest piece of resistance.” 

“We can't continue to lean on these systems,” she said. “The government has shown people of color, poor people, for many years that they're not coming to save us, especially after a disaster.”

Gunder advocates for community-led development and mutual aid networks as lasting solutions to displacement and poverty, emphasizing the need for residents to co-govern and control local resources. Listen to the episode below or subscribe to the Next City podcast on Apple, Spotify or Goodpods.

This post was originally published on Next City.