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. 

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. 

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.