The Housing Knowledge Exchange Unit is an initiative supported by the Centre for Social Change and Justice at the University of East London. This seminar is part of a series showcasing new work by writers concerned with the housing crisis and the broader effects of government policy that privileges home ownership at the expense of social justice.
Nick Bano is a lawyer and writer specialising in housing. His book Against Landlords is a Marxist account of the housing crisis. It argues that rent, rather than speculation or shortage, is ultimately at the heart of the crisis. It examines how laws and economics work in combination to ensure that rents constantly rise, and the conditions and affordability of housing have declined as a result.
Isaac Rose is a writer and editor, and works as an organiser for the Greater Manchester Tenants Union. His book The Rentier City is a study of the space and politics of Manchester seen through the lens of housing and land. It takes a longue durée approach, examining the city from the city’s 19th century political battlegrounds to the present frontiers of gentrification.
Series organisers: Penny Bernstock, Jeremy Gilbert, Lynne McCarthy, Anna Minton and Debra Benita Shaw
