Whiskas @6: Dunno if you are just some kind of troll, but assuming you are not, i buy clothing similar in style to that offered by forever 21, and believe me there are like a gazillion outlets for this style of clothing. really, do you *have* to shop at forever 21 when they participate in destroying a *critical* community resource and buy off the mayor?

i realize that every vendor of clothing has some serious ethical failings, and its really not possible to find clothing that doesnt have some serious ethical problems behind its manufacture (unless maybe you make it yourself) but whats happening with forever 21 is so egregious that maybe you can consider one of the many other outlets?

In this case, there was actually a rather complicated history and legal battle over who had rights to the land, and when, even within the context of the current legal/economic system — the history I linked to above explains some of that, dating back to 1985.

But I think the SC Farm story really begs the question of whether that legal/economic framework is a just, sensible one to begin with. Does it make sense that the private property rights of one individual should ever trump the right to good food of hundreds of families? The right to greenspace in a neighborhood? The right to community self-determination? Does it make sense that one individual’s property rights should trump a community’s/city’s/neighborhood’s environmental needs? etc., etc., etc.

Acta Non Verba…. I see where you’re coming from, but I feel that saying “It’s the market,” is a terrible way to excuse the actions of individuals. Somewhere down the line someone(s) had to say “We are taking this land away from people who are using it productively and partly for their own livelihood so that we can build a warehouse which will benefit next to no-one in this community.” They can’t even make the argument that this is the sort of thing that is going to generate enough jobs for these people. They can’t make the argument that there are plenty of places where this warehouse could have also gone.

Yes, blame “consumer preferences” but I certainly think those in government are culpable as well for allowing such a ridiculous thing as “consumer preferences” to degrade the standard of living for a group of people. Particularly true when it is a group of people who have little to no say in these “consumer preferences” which allegedly dictate the course of society.

Most tragic of all is that as they build upon here, put in a foundation, concrete and asphalt, build a huge waste of space and energy…… Nothing will grow on this land again. They are robbing the community now and robbing this community in the future (if and when the warehouse becomes a bombed out and decrepit shell).

While the situation is sad, the land never belonged to the farmers and the person who owned the land was really screwed over by the city. It sucks that the farmers lost the garden, but it was never their land to begin with.

Unfortunately, this is how markets work. The society of people with money values Forever 21’s ability to warehouse its clothes over whatever benefits came to marginal people from having a farm there.

I admit to being puzzled about this:

Also, I don’t know the specifics of the particular farm in question, but agriculture *tends* to be environmentally very bad, especially to water sources.

I’m not sure how there will be a net environmental gain to the planet by shifting the agriculture from a locale close to its consumer base to one that is far away and where — in addition to whatever pollution is generated by the farming itself — you have to add the additional oil consumption and greenhouse gas production that comes from the demands of shipping the foods to the consumers.

Also, I don’t know the specifics of the particular farm in question, but agriculture *tends* to be environmentally very bad, especially to water sources.

L.A., unfortunately, is far, far from being a “green” city like Austin, TX or Portalnd, OR. People there are too dependent on cars, and too conservative.

And I really did have some hopes for Villaragosa, too.