Florian OPILLARD, IHEAL-CREDA, France
The city of San Francisco is regularly in the spotlight for the weight that Tech companies occupy in the local political and economic landscape. In recent years, a new 'Tech Boom', best represented by the success of Airbnb, is underway, and with it an accelerated financialization of the housing sector and the production of so-called 'invested' subjects. To counter these transformations, activists collectives have been struggling on several fronts in an attempt to produce alternative imaginaries to the powerful tech-entrepreneurial narrative.
Their modes of actions include a series of investigations on the housing production networks and their predatory practices. In this regard, this presentation analyses the kind of data their investigations produce, and the way these informations are conveyed in their actions.
While the information gathered on the networks of « shell companies » is easily found, groups tend to focalize on the individuals responsible for the companies’ predatory practices, or on the building owners themselves, using « public shaming » as a strategy. This targeting strategy reveals the understanding that thesis groups have of the importance of public image in a financialized economic system: bad publicity for these home owners is often detrimental to their business and makes more efficient.
The two activist collectives have mapped an oral history of displacement in San Francisco, which precisely intends to shift local narratives on gentrification. Although the oral history itself can’t be unfolded due to ethical commitment, the strategy here underlines a sharp understanding the role of narratives in financialized contexts. Although reshaping narratives appears a rather weak strategy, it’s importance within local and national activist communities and it’s extended use in gentrifying contexts makes it a central repertoire of contention. This presentation intends to question the reasons for this use and the type of narratives it shapes.
Mots clés : gentrification|San Francisco|financialization|mobilizations
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