Squats and squatting / London housing

We should stop treating Schumacher like he has very important and valuable ideas. Okay, if you like the Zaha Hadid kind of architecture, you might be interested in what he has to say about form and space. But when it comes to people and society he is just an egomaniac - currently being given too much oxygen. Perhaps he feels he has to create his own controversial image to be something other than her shadow.

The Donald J Clarkson of architects...

Fair enough, he seems to be a known entity to you architectury types. :) I just hadn't come across his kind of immense ignorance before.

He's only really making himself known recently, since Hadid died. I knew his name before but not much else.

It's definitely a marathon:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/29/london-mayor-sadiq-khan-35-affordable-homes-target-deal-developers

'Affordable' housing is a toothless fudge. Still, at least a little progress.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/furious-activists-protest-top-architect-over-call-to-evict-central-london-council-tenants-a3408911.html

His own practice has now put out a statement disowning his comments:

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/11/30/zaha-hadid-architects-distances-itself-patrik-schumacher-housing-manifesto/

And the Big Issue has, of course, been back with a vengeance for some time:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2016/dec/01/londons-homelessness-count-continues-to-rise

In the late 80s/early 90s, a campaign to have it recognised as a key issue was successful, but do we have too many distractions now to care? I always feel as if the constant stream of news from everywhere makes me (and probably most other people) unable to concentrate on one or several things like this, and that it's much easier for politicians to calculate how much traction issues have, because of tools like focus grouping or (probably) Internet-derived data, meaning that they follow very simple formulas in election campaigns and day-to-day politics.

More on homelessness, in Birmingham:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/02/rough-sleeping-on-rise-in-birmingham-after-cuts-to-homelessness-services

And the Camelot squat came to an ignominious end:

http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/camesquat_evicted_game_over_for_squatters_as_camelot_reclaims_its_former_hoxton_hq_1_4802830

The latest big squat:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/27/squatters-open-oligarchs-empty-london-property-as-homeless-shelter

Very worrying:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/group-of-masked-and-hooded-fascists-launch-attack-on-squatters-residing-in-belgravia-mansion-a3453711.html

Is it just coincidence that the building owner is in a country that routinely uses violent thugs to intimidate whoever those in power don't like?

and now they are evicted

seems very quick !
wonder if police would move this quickly for your average joe

That used to happen in London back in the 80s, plus ca change...

They've found a new place already in Grosvenor Gardens :)

Yes, and they're clearly doing valuable work highlighting the many empty properties in Central London. It's unlikely to effect any change, but it's work that someone's got to do, and at least some people end up having a roof over their heads for a few nights.

Where do people slavsquat in London?

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/06/life-flagship-housing-estate-orchard-village-east-london

Also this:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/04/may-abandons-home-owning-democracy-thatcher-tories

Let's see how that one works out.

Large chunks of the housing market are balanced on buy to rent property and that increasing price of property increases the cost of the rent. Like before how they define affordable will be the big thing but I can already tell it will be "affordably inline with the market rate" and so still high. Planning to put out a paper about it might just be a nice way to stall and say "wait for the paper" for a few months.

My mate has just bought an "affordable" property on shared ownership. The full price of the one bedroom flat is ~ £600k.

Over next year's there will be a shifting of taxable amount from profit to revenue. Basically landlords won't be able write off interest as an expense. This will change the b2l market and make many unprofitable how many and what will change will remain to be seen.

Depressingly awful on so many levels :(
If I go on it'll be partly informed but not really informed enough, but beyond the inadequate construction and failure to repair, then using it as an argument against public funding for housing?!

Well, sort-of public funding for housing--quality impaired by the involvement of interests that do not solely aim at delivering public housing as a public service. Some of those kinds of organisations--ALMOs, etc.--seem to work OK but not adequately. The sector in general has fallen far short of delivering what's needed, of which this is an extreme example. I've seen a few things happening around this that have led me to conclude the compromises, which are basically political constructs to avoid the dreaded signal that a reintroduction of proper public services is needed, don't work. If anything, I consider this case an argument for real public funding, but of course it isn't quite such a simple generality given all the differences between the set-ups, councils, etc.