Long Read: Ahmad and the Theatre: Life in the Refugee Squats of Athens
Federico Annibale
Federico Annibale talks to migrant in Athens, where squats provide an alternative to the sometimes harsh and humiliating conditions in refugee camps.
Tag: housing
Long Read: Surviving Hostile Environments: Migrant Families With No Recourse to Public Funds
North East London Migrant Action
North East London Migrant Action reports on the barriers that many migrants face when attempting to access to public services and financial support.
The Meaning of Home
Stefan Kielbasiewicz
The UK is in the grip of an acute housing shortage. Prices are sky high and not nearly enough new homes are being built. But even for those who do manage to get accommodation, it is often unstable and of poor quality, with the threat of eviction omnipresent.
5 Reasons We Are Occupying Empty Buildings
Manchester Activist Network
As winter begins to bite, the thought of Christmas around the corner will be of little consolation to victims of the housing crisis. In Manchester, housing activists and homeless people are taking the initiative to provide safety and services, raising criticisms of the council's shortcomings in the process.
London Councils Are Failing Migrants Under Section 17
Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth
New information obtained through Freedom of Information requests by Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth reveals the devastating inadequacy of housing support provided by London councils, particularly for migrant families.
5 Lies Landlords Tell About Rent Controls
Gordon Maloney
The Labour leadership election has seen Jeremy Corbyn renew his proposals for rent controls, and the industry response has been as predictable as it is completely devoid of truth or evidence.
Canada’s Housing Bubble Warns What Happens When a Community’s Lifeblood Drains Away
A.R. Naraghi
Rising house prices and a lack of community involvement are driving young people out of Canadian cities, sending a warning of what happens when investment portfolios are prioritised over homes.
Long Read: Redeveloped into Fuel Poverty: The Story of Myatts Field North.
Fanny Malinen
The 'redevelopment' of the Myatts Field North estate in Lambeth, South London has lead to the effective eviction of many residents - whilst those who remain face worsening conditions and fuel poverty. It stands in grim testimony to the failures of PFI schemes.
Long Read: Take Back the City: The Disillusioned Londoners Calling for Radical Democracy.
Emma Snaith
Take Back the City proposes a radically different vision of political organising. In a city riven with social divisions and worsening living conditions, can it hope to achieve change for ordinary Londoners?
UCL Rent Strike: Over £1m Withheld, Victory Underway
David Dahlborn
20% of UCL renters are currently on strike, withholding over £1m in the process and showing that mass planned noncompliance is the hammer-blow exploitative landlords need.
Interview: ‘People want to see radical policies’ – Sian Berry
Aaron Bastani spoke to Green Party mayoral candidate Sian Berry about rent strikes, Uber and whether the Greens can survive Corbyn.
Long Read: Rebel City: Dublin 1916-2016
Tomas Lynch
Sunday Long Read: Remembering the Easter Rising should be done with the social context in mind, particularly if we want to draw inspiration to create positive change in cities today.
6 Reasons to Support Your Local Squats
Izzy Koksal and Luke Sheldon
Negative changes in attitudes and the law combined with the gentrification of inner-city areas mean squatting is becoming much harder - precisely at a time when immediate housing is so desperately needed.
Long Read: Cut the Rent: Striking Students on the Front Lines of the Housing Crisis
Anabel Bennett-López
Sunday Long Read: Rent-striking students at UCL show no signs of capitulating, and could even escalate their action before the academic year is up. Could the rent strike be the survival tactic needed to tackle the UK's housing crisis?
5 Things C4’s ‘Crashing’ Tells Us about Property Guardians and the Housing Crisis
Gloria Dawson
Channel 4’s comedy series Crashing is halfway through and the laughs are a bit sparse. Nevertheless, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s series breaks new territory by being the first fictional representation of property guardianship on our screens.
Rent Strike! 3 Lessons from the UCL Cut the Rent Campaign
Carlus Hudson
Having won £400k in compensation last year, the UCL Cut the Rent campaign has once again declared a rent strike, with over 150 students collectively withholding £250k until demands for a 40% rent cut are met.
Cameron’s Latest Assault on London’s Social Housing is Finishing Thatcher’s Dirty Work
Adam Robertson
In both economic and architectural terms, Cameron’s recent promise to eradicate poverty by tearing down people’s homes is the latest in a decades-long line of attacks on social housing.
Long Read: Up Against the Housing Gatekeepers
Izzy Koksal
Sunday Long Read: Possession orders are on the rise and landlords are lobbying to make evictions even swifter. Meanwhile, housing offices are implementing 'gatekeeping' practices to against homeless applicants.