For my photovoice assignment I decided to walk around my neighborhood of Kaka’ako. Kaka’ako has been one of the most redeveloped areas on O’ahu and continues to be. While development may generally be seen as good to those who benefit, it comes at a big price for those who do not, like the area’s original residents. The three pictures I took depict three different issues I have with the development going on in my community.
The first image is of the grounds where Ward Warehouse used to stand. Now all that remains is the original parking lot, a grass field, and a parking lot. Gone are the many small businesses and eateries which once populated this entire space. Why has this landmark disappeared you may ask? Despite being originally planned to be a temporary structure which was to last only 20 years, Ward Warehouse lasted for 42 years. However, it was demolished because the Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) had planned to develop more condominiums in its place. What’s interesting though to note is that there is no condominium in the picture, so what happened? The Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) had to stop the project after the demolition because of all the complaints the community had made about HHC’s recently built buildings. Hence the space being converted to a parking lot for the theater. The complaints regarded the fact that most of the condominium units sold ended up being unoccupied – so why build more empty condos?
The second image is of Wai’ea – a condominium built by HHC to increase the amount of housing available in Kaka’ako. However it can be seen to be fairly unoccupied at 10:30pm, when mostly everyone should be at home. The problem is that most of these units are outsourced to foreign investors and are actually never occupied – omitting the opportunity for a local family to afford a home. The intent of these projects was to increase the amount of housing available to residents of Hawai’i. But as these first two images depict, that isn’t the case and instead what they depict are Hawai’i’s forever ongoing need for development as well as its never ending housing crisis. Just as in Trask’s essay regarding the events which unfolded in Kalama Valley, locals are still being displaced by foreigners looking to capitalize on our lands. As a result, the median price for a house goes up and it increasingly gets harder for lower to middle class families to afford a roof over their head.
The gentrification of Kaka’ako never seems to end as more and more towers and malls pop up. This situation exists and continues to do so because of the inherent settler culture that has been instilled into Hawai’i’s economy since the early to mid 20th century. What can be done to fight back against these developments? Communities can organize like how the Kalama Valley Group did during their situation and find justice only for a few – because in the end development seems to win as money will always drive this island instead of morals.
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