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How Developers Became Hollywood’s Favorite Villain

August 21, 2020 By Nolan Gray

If there’s one thing that unites TV and film since the fifties, it’s the archetype of the dastardly developer – forever destroying homes and hiking rents. But it wasn’t always this way. Where did this trope come from, and is it true? This week on Pop Culture Urbanism, I dig into the cronyism and red tape that turned developers into Hollywood’s favorite villain.

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Filed Under: Culture, Pop Culture Urbanism Tagged With: cronyism, developers, disney, gentefied, gentrification, hey arnold, hollywood, it's a wonderful life

About Nolan Gray

Nolan Gray a regular contributor to Market Urbanism. He is also a practicing city planner, having earned a Master of City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University. His work regularly appears on Citylab and Strong Towns. He lives in New York City and is originally from Lexington, Kentucky.

Share your thoughts with him on Twitter at @mnolangray.

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