The East Village is where the play takes place and where it was written. The East Village has changed over the years, but in the time that Rent was produced, it was a hub of artists. However, it was also where gentrification was occurring. The remnants of 300 homeless people still resided in the East Village until they were expelled in 1991. They had been living in tents in Tompkins Square Park which was in the heart of the neighborhood.[15] In the song “You’ll See”, Roger states “You can’t just wipe out an entire tent city then watch ‘It’s a wonderful Life’ on TV,”[16] so the homeless presence was being prevalent and being threatened even in Rent. Abu-Lughod also writes about “Groups of squatters who had taken over a good number of abandoned buildings scattered throughout the zone,”[17] which Mark, Roger, and Mimi had to do when their apartment was padlocked and their belongings were removed. Alphabet City was a large part of the character’s lives, particularly Avenue A which Angel sings about in “Today 4 U” and Avenue B is where the Life Café was located. The East Village is located in lower Manhattan and is full of diverse cultures to witness firsthand.