Monthly Archives: June 2015

Greenbelt

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

There’s a place just outside Washington DC that distills the American housing experience and maybe says something more about the country as a whole. Greenbelt is a town (translated to American as ‘city’) of 24,000 located, as the name significantly … Continue reading →

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Georgia on my mind

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

During a six-week trip, it seemed quite likely I’d be in the US when one of the country’s regular gun massacres took place. On the same day a white racist murdered nine black people in South Carolina, I was visiting … Continue reading →

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Tosheam Dudley’s short homeless story

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

I got talking to Tosheam Dudley in New Orleans and he told me his short homeless story in the eight minutes we had before my bus arrived. Tosheam arrived in the not-aptly named ‘Big Easy’ in 2009 from his home … Continue reading →

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Katrina: ten years on

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

Part of what I’m doing on my US ‘housing road trip’ is making snap judgments about places I’m visiting briefly and don’t really know.  That’s always a hazardous activity, but it hasn’t stopped me in the past!  When it comes … Continue reading →

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An American Tragedy

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

Even compared to Death Row, my visit to Sacramento, California was distressing. I’ve known Charlotte Delgado for about ten years and she’s one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever met. She’s devoted much of her life to helping others, … Continue reading →

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Eviction blockade, San Francisco

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

They know how to evict people in the US, but they know how to oppose them too. Early yesterday morning I joined an eviction blockade near where I was staying in San Francisco.  It was a classic case: a senior … Continue reading →

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Mission Creep

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

Every time I think the housing crisis has reached its reductio ad absurdum (that’s Latin for ‘bloody stupid’) it goes to another level.  Until last night, I’d never stayed with Airbnb.  Of all the times in all the places to … Continue reading →

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The Prison Industrial Complex

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

There’s one form of affordable, secure housing that’s readily available to the American working class – prison.  There are over 2 million people incarcerated in the US, the highest per-capita rate in the world and 1 in 3 young African-Americans … Continue reading →

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Re-Elect Kshama Sawant!

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

  There’s something good happening in Seattle.  It’s a place with a radical history (general strike 1919, strong waterfront unions, anti-World Trade Organisation protests 1999).  Now it’s in the vanguard of an emergent radicalism that’s challenging – and weakening – … Continue reading →

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Obamavilles

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Glyn Robbins

I’m in Seattle now, but need to say one last thing (for now) about the omni-scandal that is Chicago housing.  It gets worse the more I learn.  The usual excuse for neglecting, carving up and privatising public/council housing is ‘Sorry, … Continue reading →

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