Razing Liberty Square is a 2023 documentary film by Katja Esson about the demolition and redevelopment of Liberty Square, a public housing apartment complex in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida.
POLITICO Climate Change and the Affordable Housing Crisis by Gloria Gonzales, June 21, 2023 writes, âÂÂKatja EssonâÂÂs documentary, Razing Liberty Square, shown at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York earlier this month, tells the story of gentrification in another neighborhood â this time in Miami.â MS Magazine writes, An effective and ethical documentarian gains the trust of her subjects, developing a rapport that gives them space to show and reflect upon the intimacies of their lives. The strength of this relationship, and its possibilities, shines through in Katja EssonâÂÂs new filmâ¦â¦Through their [the protagonistsâÂÂ] eyes, and the testimony of dozens of other residents, EssonâÂÂs film offers an incisive reflection on the price of gentrification and the impacts of climate change on communities of color. MIAMI NEW TIMES, names Razing Liberty Square âÂÂBest Miami DocumentaryâÂÂ, June 27, 2024: With her 2024 documentary Razing Liberty Square, director Katja Esson zooms in on the complex and devastating consequences of climate gentrification in Liberty City, a historically Black, under-resourced Miami neighborhoodâ¦â¦.Razing Liberty Square is a fierce investigation into the disproportionate effects of climate change on Black communities.A review in Cineaste acknowledged that the film "arguably covers too much ground", but stated that "it is undeniably powerful to see families moving into their new homes and justifiably infuriating to see the residents experience cracks, leaks, and moldâÂÂa vivid metaphor for the lack of improvement."