Housing Weekender 2014 – FULL PROGRAMME

The Radical Housing Network is proud to present

The Housing Weekender 2014

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Please Note: All events are FREE and no booking required

DAY ONE: Saturday 26th April

Events happening across London.

Click here for FULL SCHEDULE

NORTH WEST LONDON

INEQUALITY BUS TOUR

The Housing Inequality Bus Tour is coming to you!
OUR CITY IS FOR LIVING IN
A HOME IS YOUR RIGHT
We are bringing: Music////Refreshments/// Useful information that can help with your housing problems///// Hop on the bus to find out more about what is causing London’s housing crisis and what we are doing about it.
The Google Map route of the Bus Tour.

NORTH LONDON

Haringey Housing Action Group (HHAG) will be hosting their monthly meeting
Sat 26th April ///// 10am-12 midday ///// North London Community House, N17

Our Tottenham and Haringey Private Tenants Action Group (HPTAG) will be holding an info stall in Tottenham (opposite Bruce Grove Station, on the high road) between 1pm-2pm to give out information about the Our Tottenham Network and all campaigns to improve housing and support people to set up action groups in threatened estates in the area.

EAST LONDON

Saturday 26th April///// 12-1pm ////Hackney Town Hall

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Join Digs and tell the council the private rented sector needs to change.

We will be sharing and listening to stories, playing renter bingo and presenting our dossier of stories to the council – come and meet councillors and tell them your story.

Over the last months Digs has been collecting tales of renting in Hackney. We will be presenting these stories to the council so they can’t claim ignorance on these issues, and we’ll be demanding longer tenancies and council action on profiteering landlords.

SOUTHWEST LONDON

A night of films celebrating the struggle for decent housing in our communities

7.30pm til late, Saturday 26 April ///// St. Matthew’s Tenants Hall, 10 St. Matthew’s Rd, SW2 1NH/////Drinks and other refreshments will be available

We’ll be showing a series of short films which give an insight into housing activism, past and present, and provide acknowledgment and encouragement both to those who are precariously housed and those fighting to combat this social ill. They will include contemporary projects, such as the campaign to save and expand social housing in Cressingham Gardens, and inspirational examples from recent history, such as the co-operative living spaces established by the Brixton Faeries in the 1970s.

Facebook event

Organised by Lambeth Housing Activists and Lambeth Renters.

SOUTHEAST LONDON

Happening in New Cross, Southeast London. For full programme click through to New Cross Programme page

Library: New Cross Learning, 283 – 285 New Cross Road, SE14 6AS

  • 2pm – 3pm: Various Housing Shorts [FILM]
  • 3pm – 4pm: Despite the City (1988) [FILM]
  • 4pm – 5pm: SE London Co-ops Forum Presents: How Can Local Politicians Help Co-operatives Solve the Housing Crisis? [DEBATE]
  • 6pm – 9pm: Grasp the Nettle (2013) [FILM]

Cafe: Café Crema, 306 New Cross Rd, London SE14 6AF

  • 1pm – 2pm: Jon Glackin: Street Homelessness [SPEAKER]
  • 2pm – 3pm: Owen Hatherley – Urban Blight [SPEAKER]
  • 3pm – 4pm: Jon Broome – Self-Build [SPEAKER]
  • 4pm – 6pm: Give Us Space (2014) [FILM]
  • 6pm – 8pm: Housing Hangout Space, light entertainment and drinks

DAY TWO: Sunday 27th April

For FULL PROGRAMME click here

11am-6pm

33-37 Moreland Street, EC1V 8BB

11-12.15: Media Training

Lots of groups find that engagement with the mainstream media is a useful way to further their aims, but not everyone is confident in dealing with journalists to get the best results. It would be great to see more housing groups getting their voices heard. This practical training session will be led by Joe and Theo, who have been part of various grassroots campaigns including the Plane Stupid campaign against aviation expansion, and the Squash campaign against the criminalisation of squatting.

11-12.15: MIPIM

MIPIM is the world’s biggest property fair, where our cities and communities are bought and sold. It brings together developers, speculators and politicians for a week of back-scratching and champagne. The Radical Housing Network is part of a cross-European network organising opposition to MIPIM. In October, a special UK event will take place in London. Come along to find out more, and plan for action in the coming year.

12.30: Alternatives

Ever thought about setting up a housing co-op? Or maybe building your own home? Or perhaps you would like to know more about Community Land Trusts and other means of community engagement with local planning and property ownership? This session will look at ways that people are working within and outside the broken housing system to find alternative ways of gaining control over their housing and getting the homes they want and need.

We will be joined by Jon Broome, a leading self-build architect who worked with Walter Segal; Rob Morris, co-founder of the Drive co-op in North London and active member of Radical Routes; and London Community Neighbourhood Co-op, an ambitious a live/work/community space in Westminster based on sustainability, affordability and accessibility.

12.30-4.45: Action planning and preparation

Throughout the afternoon, we will be planning and preparing for a housing action in the near future. Come with ideas, energy, cardboard boxes, and maybe some for sale signs?

2.15: Understanding the Crisis

Danny Dorling is Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford. His recent book, All That Is Solid (2014), argues that the solution to the housing crisis lies not in the construction of more homes, but in addressing the root cause: inequality.

Liz Davies is a housing lawyer and Chair of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers. She is particularly interested in homelessness and social housing allocations, and is co-author of Housing Allocation and Homelessness (2012).

Join us to look at the causes of the housing crisis and start thinking about some of the solutions.

2.30-4.30: Law surgery and advice training

The first part of this session will be a workshop on homelessness and eviction, looking and where and how to seek legal help when facing these issues. It will be equally useful for people who would like to be able to give advice and support, and those actually facing these problems right now.

The second part of the session will be an open law surgery – so if you have questions around housing and homelessness that need a lawyer’s thoughts, come along.

3.45: Organising and Action

Defend Council Housing, London Renters, Squatters Legal Network and Lambeth Housing Activists will discuss their diverse tactics and experiences of organising in the face of the housing crisis. Together with the other groups in attendance we will think about how we can better organise across tenure and locality to develop a join-up opposition to housing injustice, and what kinds of organising and action work best for us.

5.00 Plenary

This will provide an opportunity to share the events of the weekend, including the Saturday events in Hackney, Haringey, Lambeth, New Cross, and Barnet, as well as the sessions throughout the day on Sunday. In particular, we we hear the plans and proposals for action, and feedback on how we can move forward together.

In New Cross:

Little Homes////Children and families event
Time: 2-6 pm////
Location: Sanford Housing Coop (House Zero), Sanford Walk, SE14 6 NB
Creative workshop for children and families exploring alternative housing solutions. Children will build and decorate their own houses using cardboard and colours. The workshop is run by some of the Sanford Housing-Coop members and members of We Love Cardboard.

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Together we can build a movement of practical solidarity to resist social cleansing and reclaim the city for the people who live in it.

Follow @radicalhousing on twitter for updates