Mission accomplished! Members of a cooperative in Nicaragua build their own homes
An article written by Winnie Narváez Herrera, Facilitator at ÁBACOenRed /FUPECG, and edited/translated by John Perry. In Latin America, the problem of housing quality is even more serious than the problem of not having a home, and this is made worse by the increasing effects of climate change, violence in some parts of the region […]
8a Victoria Street
D.H. Lawrence’s relationship with the place where he grew up, Eastwood in Nottinghamshire, was always ambivalent. Its rural surroundings were ‘the country of my heart’, but the streets of miners’ cottages where his family lived were ‘sordid and hideous’. He freely used Eastwood characters in his writing, and to many locals he was ‘that mucky […]
We can’t tackle child poverty without investment in affordable housing
It’s a formidable task: there’s cross-party commitment to radically reducing child poverty in the next five years. Indeed, the Chancellor said in the March budget that ‘child poverty is down’. But is that true and what is needed to ensure that the number of children in poverty not only stays down but falls to 10% […]
The hidden families who have to share
When there’s a housing shortage, only a fraction of those affected end up sleeping on the streets or in council temporary accommodation. What happens to the rest? Analysis of data from the 2011 Census is building up a picture of those most affected by the housing crisis. The latest revelation is that well over a […]
Housing and migration – following up the guide
Last July, CIH published – for the Housing and Migration Network – a UK guide to issues and solutions. It’s always good to see if guidance actually works, so I’ve been collecting a few examples since then of what housing professionals have been doing in this field. In the case of working with migrants, one […]
How can housing help migrants integrate into communities?
Recent discussion about migration has focused almost entirely on the numbers of people coming into the country, but debates about numbers don’t respond to the issues that emerged in the areas where migrants had gone to live and find work. While London continues to be the most attractive destination, the biggest increases in the percentage […]
Migration Watch does it again
Migration Watch’s latest assessment of the impact of migration on housing was only noticed by much of the media when Frank Field MP suddenly decided to use its ‘evidence’ to back his own ideas about how social housing should be allocated. Migration Watch’s line was – as usual – that migrants are getting far too […]
How to… tackle poor conditions for migrants in the private rented sector
New arrivals in Britain are highly dependent on private lettings – whether bedsits, accommodation tied to their jobs or caravan sites. Recent migrants are three times more likely than the average person to be living in the private rented sector (PRS). Many endure poor conditions, irregular tenancies, overcrowding and even “hot bedding”, where tenants use […]
John Perry lives in Masaya, Nicaragua where he works on