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

Wed Feb 25 07:41:26 EST 2009

On the micro level, yesterday a friend on a municipal library board in Northern California asked me my opinion on how to deal with cell phone usage in libraries, when they have become a gigantic time suck for the staff. 

I recommended maintaining an attitude of general gentle discouragement, with the creation of various 'zones' of tolerance with enforcement ranging from immediate and total to laissez faire. He said that was about what he was thinking of as well. This is a guy who is like Mr Spock, all about rules and logic and rationality. If even HE can see the sense of this type of gray tolerance, then I think we have a cultural wavelet...

Susan Mazur-Stommen, Ph.D.

Principal/Cultural Anthropologist

Indicia Consulting

Blog: Small Signs and Omens

00+1.951.686.1661

susanmazur (skype)

> From: asmart at ucalgary.ca
> To: urbanth-l at lists.ysu.edu; jancius3022 at comcast.net
> Subject: RE: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Neighbors Helping Neighbors - to Break intoVacantHouses
> Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:48:56 -0700
> 
> This has been an interesting string of discussion. I've published a couple
> of articles dealing with governmental toleration of illegal housing;
> surprisingly there is relatively little known in general about toleration of
> illegality despite its frequency of occurrence. References:
> Smart, Alan "Impeded self-help: toleration and the proscription of housing
> consolidation in Hong Kong's squatter areas." Habitat International
> 27:205-225 (2003).
> 
> Smart, Alan "Unruly places: Urban governance and the persistence of
> illegality in Hong Kong's urban squatter areas." American Anthropologist
> 103(1):30-44 (2001).
> 
> And for a broader perspective: Heyman, Josiah and Alan Smart "States and
> illegal practices: An overview." In Heyman (ed.) States and Illegal
> Practices.", pp. 1-24. Oxford: Berg, 1999.
> 
> Alan Smart
> U of Calgary
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: urbanth-l-bounces at lists.ysu.edu
> [mailto:urbanth-l-bounces at lists.ysu.edu] On Behalf Of Rik Pinxten
> Sent: February-20-09 3:05 AM
> To: smaack at earthlink.net; urbanth-l at lists.ysu.edu; 'Angela Jancius'
> Subject: Re: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Neighbors Helping Neighbors - to Break
> intoVacantHouses
> 
> 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/
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > URBANTH-L mailing list
> > URBANTH-L at lists.ysu.edu
> > http://lists.ysu.edu/mailman/listinfo.cgi/urbanth-l
> > 
> 
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