Anne Elizabeth Moore

Disproving the adage to 'never look a gift horse in the mouth', Moore discovers that the free house in Detroit that she's offered comes with lots of issues, both with the house itself and because it's located in a dysfunctional city. The free house program was ostensibly to promote neighborhood revitalization by locating artists in Detroit neighborhoods and providing them with housing. Many of Moore's less happy discoveries about the program and her house seem to stem from her not reading the 'fine print' on the agreement (like many folks acquiring a house TBH!) and for her vignettes of sexist behavior which is apparently rampant among Detroiters--issues that no amount of organic gardening and upcycling can fix. Sprinkled into the litany of complaints are stories about Moore's Bangladeshi neighbors, including some quite charming young folks. Gentrifier offers a sketch of the challenges that America's cities stalled in post-industrial decline face and as an indictment of 'quick fix' measures to the housing crisis.… (more)