[URBANTH-L]NEWS: Neighbors Helping Neighbors - to Break intoVacantHouses

Fri Feb 20 09:35:46 EST 2009

Speaking of innovative solutions that involve the powers that be, social workers, and the un-behoused:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/13/MNDVUALRV.DTL&feed=rss.news

Susan Mazur-Stommen, Ph.D.

Principal/Cultural Anthropologist

Indicia Consulting

Blog: Small Signs and Omens

00+1.951.686.1661

susanmazur (skype)

> From: Hendrik.Pinxten at UGent.be
> To: smaack at earthlink.net; urbanth-l at lists.ysu.edu; jancius3022 at comcast.net
> Subject: Re: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Neighbors Helping Neighbors - to Break intoVacantHouses
> Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:04:34 +0100
> 
> dear colleagues,
> In Ghent and other cities in Belgium (and the netherlands) we have a 
> tradition of at least a decade where the Mayor and his services get in 
> contact with illegal occupants and make a deal with them.When the houses or 
> appartments are demolished or sold it in not uncomon that the Elderman or 
> mayor orders to find a new home for the occupants.
> Rik pinxten
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Stephen C. Maack" <smaack at earthlink.net>
> To: <urbanth-l at lists.ysu.edu>; "'Angela Jancius'" <jancius3022 at comcast.net>
> Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 1:51 AM
> Subject: RE: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Neighbors Helping Neighbors - to Break 
> intoVacantHouses
> 
> 
> > Comparative anthropology -- while I don't have precise references, I know
> > that in Europe (e.g., France, Germany) there has been a movement going on
> > for several years to take over vacant apartment buildings. This is due to 
> > a
> > lack of affordable housing and homelessness problems. I think that
> > occupying vacant apartment buildings has also happened in some of the 
> > larger
> > U.S. cities (perhaps in NYC -- parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn or the 
> > Bronx?).
> > Anyone have details on those movements? Is taking over vacant single 
> > family
> > homes a variation on the theme? I've lived in Minneapolis or St. Paul for
> > nine winters and don't blame anyone trying to get out of the cold, or at
> > least the wind, in mid-February!! Breaking into vacant houses is, of
> > course, completely illegal.
> >
> > In relatively warm Southern California there are many, many vacant,
> > foreclosed homes that are virtually new in San Bernardino and Riverside
> > Counties in particular (until recently two of the fastest growing counties
> > in the United States).
> >
> > If this deep recession is going to last for some time, which is what is
> > expected, homelessness is only going to get worse and worse. Someone has 
> > to
> > start thinking of innovative solutions beyond mortgage bailouts of current
> > homeowners, and I can't think of a better group than those of us on the
> > Urbananth list.
> >
> > Here's an idea for consideration. What if instead of just reacting,
> > observing, going "tsk, tsk" or talking about neoliberalism, some applied
> > urban anthropologists started becoming proactive with solutions less
> > dangerous to poor and middle-class victims of what has transpired than
> > illegal home occupancy? For example, one idea might be to talk to banks 
> > and
> > social service agencies about setting up a program to turn at least some 
> > of
> > the vacant properties into at least temporary shelter for families who 
> > have
> > lost their homes due to no particular fault of their own (e.g., lost a job
> > in the economic downturn, or lost a home due to a bank-encouraged bad
> > mortgage decisions). Having so many homes on the market at the same time
> > will only further depress prices. More and more homes are being put up 
> > for
> > lease near where I live (in a very good neighborhood), and not being 
> > leased
> > due to too high lease/rental prices (so that may eventually force down
> > prices). So homes aren't going to turn over quickly anyway, as owned or
> > leased properties. If banks with large stocks of foreclosed homes let 
> > them
> > out at very low rents for say six months or a year they would have 
> > occupied
> > properties less likely to be trashed or used for illegal activities
> > (shooting up drugs comes to mind...), might at least cover the cost of
> > utilities (electricity, heat, water) -- especially important in cold
> > climates to avoid damage to pipes and such -- and would certainly produce
> > "good will" in the community. The banks could phase the program and apply
> > it to only some of their properties or certain neighborhoods. Applied
> > anthropologists, social service agencies, neighborhood groups, and banks
> > could work together to redefine "risk" and what constitutes an "acceptable
> > tenant." What do you think? Could it work? Or am I just too much of an
> > idealist, not enough of a revolutionary, or too logical? Why
> > wouldn't/couldn't this work? Enlighten me....
> >
> > Best Regards,
> > Steve
> >
> > Steve Maack
> > smaack at earthlink.net
> > Telephone: 310-384-9717
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: urbanth-l-bounces at lists.ysu.edu
> > [mailto:urbanth-l-bounces at lists.ysu.edu] On Behalf Of Angela Jancius
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 10:03 AM
> > To: urbanth-l at lists.ysu.edu
> > Subject: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Neighbors Helping Neighbors - to Break into
> > VacantHouses
> >
> > Neighbors Helping Neighbors -- to Break Into Vacant Houses
> > http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/02/18-7
> >
> > Wednesday, February 18, 2009
> > Twin Cities Daily Planet
> > (Minneapolis - St. Paul, Minnesota)
> >
> > by Madeleine Baran
> >
> > Poverty rights activists broke into at least a dozen vacant Minneapolis
> > buildings this week and helped homeless families move in.
> >
> > "This is the modern underground railroad," said Cheri Honkala, National
> > Organizer for the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, the group
> > organizing the "takeovers."
> >
> > This week's actions are part of a growing national movement to illegally
> > open up thousands of vacant, foreclosed homes to provide housing for the
> > growing number of homeless people. Over 3,000 Minneapolis homes went into
> > foreclosure in 2008. Advocates estimate that over 7,000 Minnesotans are
> > homeless. Most Twin Cities' homeless shelters have been filled to capacity
> > for months.
> > ...
> > /snip/
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > URBANTH-L at lists.ysu.edu
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> > 
> 
> 
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