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The “Focus E15” campaign looks at a group of homeless single mothers and
their children in Stratford who were forced onto the streets involuntarily when
the hostel they were living at was closed as its funding had been cut. The
mother’s were told by the Council that it was unlikely social housing would be
found in London (as we are experiencing a shortage) but could be rehoused as
far as Hastings, Manchester and Birmingham, leaving them alienated from their
own communities. The mother’s took initiative by forcing their way into the
abandoned homes at the Carpenters estate which was closed down for
redevelopment.
Taken from an article written by The Independent, the single mothers, “ended up having to force their way into
abandoned homes” (The Independent) onto the Carpenters estate
in a desperate attempt to secure shelter in London and not be moved hundreds of
miles away from their families and friends who are these women’s support
systems. According to The
Independent, this protest “Is symbolic of
the way many others are being treated. Their tale is one that reflects the
fortunes of low-income households across the UK, and the dismantling of
the social housing that used to keep them in their communities.” (The Independent). The realisation
that the same type of issue is happening all around the UK everyday is
alarming, as the social housing becomes less and less due to Government
spending cuts and the changes to the law with “affordable rents” that saw
social housing rent prices soar from 50% of the market rates to up to an 80%.
This is an example of how our country is attempting to gentrify the whole UK by
introducing changes to the law which makes it difficult for low-income families
to afford rent prices, especially if tenants live in an area that becomes
fashionable or sought-after place to live, such as Stratford after the Olympics.
It is unfair that communities who have lived in an area such as Stratford their
entire lives have to be moved on to lower income areas as they cannot afford
the housing prices with “Councils in
high-rent areas say they have no option but to move their tenants to areas of
lower rent, plucking families out of their communities.” (The Independent). This statement is
difficult to comprehend with one of the Councillors of Newham Council
responding to the FOCUS E15 group moving into the abandoned homes stated “It is
disappointing to see empty homes in the Carpenters Estate being occupied by
agitators and hangers on.” It is appalling that these are single mothers with
CHILDREN that are being referred to as “hangers on” as they do not wish to
leave their area and move hundreds of miles away. One of the mothers work for the
NHS and said it would be difficult for her to maintain her 45 hours work shift
if her mum wasn’t available to look after her child as she cannot afford
childcare. These are women who are trying to contribute to our economy and our
Government are unable to accommodate special cases and individuals who are
crying out for help, as their needs no longer fit with the agenda of a
gentrified Stratford with no “hangers on”. We need to stop White-washing our
communities under capitalism and investment and focus on the real issues of our
communities as that’s where the real change lies, with our future NOT the £9
billion pound investment Stratford received.
The shift in Power-geometry creates an
understanding to flows and movement of social groups as power is shifted
geographically from “The City” or the Capital, into East London as it becomes a
new area seen to be “up-and-coming”. Power is produced through investment and
redevelopments of areas such as Stratford by large corporations and Government
spending enabling them the control over the area as Power is shifted through
time-space compression. Capitalism in relation to “The City” expands through
time-space compression as ‘control’ over an area becomes easier through
technologies and easier transport links, inevitably expanding the power of “the
City” by using up more space geographically, and pushing out social groups and
individuals by disenfranchising their power of living in their area.
The idea of Power-geometry can be symbolised
by the blockbuster movies “The Hunger Games” as “The Capital” being central to
all the power of the surrounding districts, it becomes more and more powerful as
it takes more space geographically, in the movie, the Capital also has the power
to “wipe out” one of the districts as they are not conforming to the rules
governed by the Capital. This is currently happening in Stratford as it is
being consumed by Capitalism and creating revenue, its alienating its
communities and removing their power by forcing them out of their homes and cutting their
social housing funding. The question existing is what will happen to Stratford
when another Area of London becomes gentrified and “popular”, what will be left
of the community and businesses then when the area no longer creates a need for
The City.
Bibliography
http://img.rt.com/files/news/2e/62/40/00/mothers-occupy-london-tower2.si.jpg
- Conor Griffin |
Thursday, 26 March 2015
SOCIAL HOUSING NOT SOCIAL CLEANSING
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