The slick, freshly-painted expanse of the IslandView casino hotel looms over its surrounding neighborhood in Gulfport, Mississippi. Only a few yards away, beyond the vast parking lot, dilapidated houses still mark their territory, bearing the now familiar signals of Katrina\'s destruction: spray-painted messages of condemnation, blown-off roofs, heaps of rubble.\r\n\r\nThe coexistence of these disparate circumstances reflects an ongoing conflict on the Mississippi Gulf Coast between the interests of economic development and community preservation, the encroachment of large commercial developers upon regions and communities traditionally and historically occupied by local residents. In other words: corporate enterprise at the expense of the disenfranchised. Taken a step further, these problems can also be framed in the terms of race. Why? Because the poor local residents who have been displaced as a result of the Katrina disaster also happen to be largely African-American, who, despite generations of adversity, have nevertheless thrived as a community and as a culture in that region. It is true that this community and culture has been in jeopardy for some time now with the development of large scale commercial enterprise on the Gulf Coast. It is true that the Katrina tragedy compounded the hardship. But it is also true that the Katrina tragedy has finally shone light on this matter as a civil rights issue.\r\n\r\nWith the large scale destruction of personal property and real estate on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, there has been a great risk of large corporate enterprises and developers buying out property owned by small local landowners. And with this large scale commercial development, local activists fear the loss of communities that have created the culture, ambiance and lifestyle of the region, as the historical aspects of community development are replaced with larger scale development targeted at more affluent demographic constituencies.\r\n\r\nThe Mississippi Center for Justice has led the way in pursuing an equitable rebuilding process - one that recognizes the importance of both community preservation and economic redevelopment. The MCJ recognizes that the most critical threshold issue in the rebuilding process is the one of attaining affordable housing for low income people, because the current housing shortage and the price gouging of remaining rental properties have forced the eviction of many local residents, which allows for the dissolution of the communities which in turn will pave the way for further corporate buyouts.\r\n\r\nOther than providing representation in eviction cases and negotiating settlements on behalf of evicted tenants, MCJ seeks to educate evicted renters of their eligibility for federal grants, as many residents are unaware of their entitlement to federal monies. They have even promoted a plan to provide landlords with an incentive to keep rents down by allocating portions of the state\'s relief grants to them.\r\n\r\nIn conjunction with the MCJ and the Turkey Creek Community Initiative, the North Gulfport Community Land Trust has developed its own method to preserve the community while developing the local economy: it strives to reverse the effects of economic distress through the creation of permanently affordable housing and community reinvestment. By transplanting donated houses of historical and cultural significance to the culture and community, the Land Trust sells these houses at no profit as an endeavor to increase home ownership within the North Gulfport community.\r\n\r\nOriginally posted:http://bls-shn.blogspot.com/2007/03/housing-on-mississippi-gulf-coast-civil.html\r\n