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Related: Regeneration GameMeanwhile, a total of 9000 public houses have been sold off around NSW to fund replacements and maintenance, with still more on the chopping block. Communities have fractured, dispersing the fragile and underprivileged all over the city and state, and frayed the city's diverse social and economic fabric."People have got to look a bit beyond their own personal gain. Sure you've made $500,000 on your house but is that really a good thing?" asks Professor Phibbs. "If we've managed to make what was an affordable suburb to where houses are worth a million dollars, we're just headed in the wrong direction," he says, citing the unlikely explosion of real estate in places as far afield as Mt Druitt.The latest inner-city housing project to come under threat is the The Block—a parcel of land in the heart of Redfern, purchased by Australia's indigenous population off the Whitlam government in 1972. It remains the last foothold for indigenous people in the city, and a hold out against the trend of pricing out longterm residents. Although controversial plans by the much-maligned Aboriginal Housing Company, in conjunction with controversial Sydney-based developer DeiCorp, recently sought to turn the space into a commercial precinct, complete with international student accommodation, ahead of building housing for the local indigenous population.Their plans were met by fierce resistance from the local indigenous community and a handful of activists, who maintained a 15-month protest in the form of the Redfern Tent Embassy on the site—a makeshift camp that existed on the vacant lot until the Supreme Court ordered their eviction recently. The protestors' suspicions were raised after a PR company hired by developer, DeiCorp, was busted advertising apartments in the area to Chinese investors on the basis that, "The Aboriginals have already moved out, now Redfern is the last virgin suburb close to the city, it will have great potential for the capital growth in the near future."Speaking to VICE last year, local indigenous elder Jenny Munro, a Redfern resident of 41 years and a University of NSW Arts and Law graduate reflected on the situation saying, "It's a sad situation when greed is higher priority than compassion". Continuing, "I think it's time for Sydney to take a stand against those values. I think it's a long time overdue. We've managed to live together for a very long time in this city. I don't think that should stop. I think it should be allowed to evolve at its own pace rather than being forced into corners or directions it doesn't want to go".Follow Jed on TwitterLike VICE on Facebook for more national content