The Diaspora of Belonging: Gentrification, Systems of Oppression, and Why Our Cities Are Out of Place

We know racism is entrenched in our systems and institutions, but what about our cities and public spaces? In The Diaspora of Belonging , author Jay Sharma explores the history of systemic racism, structural oppression, and state-sanctioned discrimination and injustice as it relates to urban settings. Drawing on 12 unique cities across the country, Sharma demonstrates how calculated decisions regarding our cities are, and how those in power have weaponized the built environment for decades. Covering topics that range from residential segregation, zoning, suburbanization, and urban renewal to ghettoization, immigration, deindustrialization, the tech industry, and more, The Diaspora of Belonging makes it ardently clear that America has always neglected to make inclusive spaces. Perhaps more importantly, it dissects the collective disdain for gentrification, and highlights the pervasiveness of poverty in America. Explore the connections between justice and design, economics and identity, and segregation and community in The Diaspora of Belonging . Let it challenge and inspire you to make our cities and neighborhoods better places for us all.

From the authors of the bestselling Fact vs. Fiction, this book offers easy-to-implement lessons to engage students in becoming media literacy "digital detectives, " looking for clues, questioning motives, uncovering patterns, developing theories and, ultimately, delivering a verdict. The current news landscape is driven by clicks, with every social media influencer, trained and citizen journalists chasing the same goal: a viral story. In this environment, where the race to be first on the scene with the most sensational story often overshadows the need for accuracy, traditional strategies for determining information credibility are no longer enough. Rather than simply helping students become savvy information consumers, today's educators must provide learners with the skills to be digital detectives – information interrogators who are armed with a variety of tools for dissecting news stories and determining what's real and what isn't in our "post-truth world." This book:

• Shares meaningful lessons that move beyond traditional "fake news" protocols to help learners navigate a world in which information can be both a force for good and a tool used to influence and manipulate.
• Includes resources and examples to support educators in the work of facilitating engaging, relevant (and fun!) instructional opportunities for K-12 learners, in both face-to-face and digital learning environments.
• Unpacks the connection between social-emotional learning and information literacy.
• Includes access to the Digital Detective's Evidence Locker, an online collection of over 100 downloadable and remixable resources to support the lessons in the book.

As the authors state: "Remember, the detective's job is NOT to prove themselves correct. Their job is to detect the truth!" This statement reflects the way they approach the lessons in this book, providing clear and practical guidance to help educators address and overcome this ever-expanding issue. Audience: K-12 educators and library media specialists

We know racism is entrenched in our systems and institutions, but what about our cities and public spaces?

In The Diaspora of Belonging, author Jay Sharma explores the history of systemic racism, structural oppression, and state-sanctioned discrimination and injustice as it relates to urban settings. Drawing on 12 unique cities across the country, Sharma demonstrates how calculated decisions regarding our cities are, and how those in power have weaponized the built environment for decades.

Covering topics that range from residential segregation, zoning, suburbanization, and urban renewal to ghettoization, immigration, deindustrialization, the tech industry, and more, The Diaspora of Belonging makes it ardently clear that America has always neglected to make inclusive spaces. Perhaps more importantly, it dissects the collective disdain for gentrification, and highlights the pervasiveness of poverty in America.

Explore the connections between justice and design, economics and identity, and segregation and community in The Diaspora of Belonging. Let it challenge and inspire you to make our cities and neighborhoods better places for us all.

**We know racism is entrenched in our systems and institutions, but what about our cities and public spaces?**__The Diaspora of Belonging____The Diaspora of Belonging__ __The Diaspora of Belonging__