Meet the Rising New Housing Movement That Wants to Create Homes for All

Meet the Rising New Housing Movement That Wants to Create Homes for All

Summary of the document

This report explores a range of issues from rent control to social housing activists who were pushing for thoughtful solutions to the ongoing housing crisis. An illustration by Curt Merto while crossing Susan B. Antony Memorial Bridge sees a small city with tent houses. This city is scattered about the bank of Genesee River built on private land, and homeless people live there. On the south-east side, is a 48 unit brick building on Thurston road, the people there live in a deplorable situation. The above illustrations indicate a state of a housing crisis. Additionally, nearly half of the population were renters. There was no national movement capable of agitating for transformative human shelter. However, there was the rent movement that wanted to make private market noncommercial and aspired for community-controlled housing. Consequently, the movement led to the passing of rent control, affiliation with the housing justice campaign, and prevented eviction orders amid eviction protection.

There were organizers who launched a citywide tenants union that included unions in private development such as Mary Browns building homeless union and amalgamations of senior citizens in funded housing. They enlightened other tenants and later recruited them. Furthermore, there was a second stage move to universal social housing. The movement was able to block the destruction of 432 units’ of Bary farm, which the private developer wanted to replace with fewer units of a mixed-income complex. Trump’s administration proposed 57 billion in cuts to HUD (Housing and Urban Development) budget, which was highly resisted. Also, they resisted privatizing public housing for more affordable houses, and modern technology was put up for low-income tenants. In addition to that, the movement began to acquire property through community-controlled land ownership.

Idea or theme covered in the readings

There is a housing crisis that is prevalent and long-term such that it has turned into the country’s status quo. This article examines the situation of public housing in the 1960s. The city had low-income renters of color who were exposed to shedding paint, skittering mice, cracked windows, bursting pipes, and absentee landlords who do not seem like to care about correcting the hitches. The case of Liz McGriff is as well attributed to the ongoing housing crisis who bought a modest home across town on the east side. Later on, she lost her job and, with it, her ability to pay the debt. As a result, the foreclosure came up, causing a crisis with the courts, the police, and the bank, making her really insecure in her own place. It is also a matter of concern that more than half of the tenants in Rochester are rent-burdened, meaning they spend a large fraction of their money on housing costs. This housing crisis can be a real peril to the country if it is not addressed.

The rental movement was challenging the private ownership of rental houses. This is a challenge to the individual effort made by private developers to acquire economic freedom. It hinders the personal development and effort by an individual to provide a solution to housing. Rent controls had derailed the private housing developers. Therefore, slowing individual economic development. For instance, the property owned by Spectrum company, how the slum dwellers resisted paying rent for some time hence impoverished the landlord. The movement through activism was able to overcome real estate owners and lobby for better houses to live in. Tenants and organizers were able to undertake and become the first community that enabled community-controlled land ownership.

There is the notion that housing ought to be shielded from the wrong logic of the capitalist market. Bauer even suggests that the buildings with the most effective developments, basically are not the premises of capitalism. It is also important to note that the initiative was not entirely focused on alleviating poverty. These developments could not be traded, nor do the landlords increase the rent, making it consistently affordable. Nevertheless, this was a major threat to real-estate business. One of the most critical failures is necessary to note is the reluctance to defy racial segregation in American capitals. In this case, it only prolonged the iniquity by having unconnected white-only and black-only development. This only approved segregation lives in the federal housing up to today.

Three new things learned

From this article, I have learned about the people policy project that was able to develop affordable housing and rented the low-income tenants as opposed to private developers of housing who yearn for huge profit margin from the tenancy. The American people were able to put up ten million units owned by the state. This social housing thrived and extended across the Atlantic and other countries. One example being houses owned by a municipal government serving the middle class.

We have also seen the rent movement that made the housing crisis a campaign issue during the election. The city renters formed a Downstate Housing, which would push for national housing policy and, in turn, benefit the low-income renters. In other words, activists and organizers of the rent movement wanted the national housing scheme, which would subsidize low-income renters. This alliance pressed Governor Andrew Cuomo to launch just-cause eviction defenses and rent controls for all tenants who joined afterward.

We have also gained knowledge about the problems of housing missed in the presidential election debate. Later, the fed-up tenants created a tenant’s right campaign in California, New York, Denver, and Chicago. They agitated for rent control, eviction protections, and offered relief to tenants.  Moreover, they mobilized for allies and social media to fight for an overhaul of the housing crisis and improvement of housing conditions. There was a revolt started in Rochester, and slum dwellers lodged complaints to housing inspectors and lobbied for coverage by local media.  In conclusion, they went on to rent strike and urging house repairs

Three important sentences

“We’re in an incredibly urgent moment that requires a movement response. Housing is the biggest tent issue there is.” To this end, the People Action was able to create no cuts coalition joining with other more than 100 community organizations to resist Trump’s administration, which recommended $7 billion cuts from the HUD budget. Ultimately, they succeeded, and not a dime was decreased from the division’s budget. The rent movement activists and other organizations were able to resist the presidential policy to privatize public housing and land. Instead, they organized rallies across the country, and this composed a new policy stand that made the congress rehabilitate the existing public housing units that were affordable to low socio-economic tenants.

“For them to want to kick us out like we are trash and bring in people from other places—I have a problem with that,” were words by Paulette Matthews, a slender dark lady while on the pavement of her house. “It’s inhumane.” With regard to the proposed demolition, Mathews, along with a group of other few occupants, planned the Barry Farm Tenant and allies association. The association made a lawsuit to hinder the demolition of the property. Thus, the uppermost court in the region sided with the renters and sent the proposal back to the zoning directives for reassessment. This was a minor but vital success, assisting in curtailing the depletion of publicly owned units in the meantime.

“I am happy. I sleep better at night. I am putting things back together,” These were words by McGriff, who, currently, was a leader with the citywide tenants’ union. MC Griff had acquired a two-story home. The movement was able to finalize a deal with the bank and retain MC Griff’s home. She was able to regain her title to her structure, which had made her an insecure tenant before her inability to pay the mortgage. In the year 2018, the City Roots CLT settled a contract with the bank that released the title on McGriff’s household. This was one of the achievements of the movement.

Reference

Tobias, J. (2018). Meet the Rising New Housing Movement That Wants to Create Homes for All. The Nation, 24