David Madden is an associate professor of sociology and co-directs the Cities Programme at the London School of Economics. He is coauthor, with Peter Marcuse, of In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis.
Few major cities have welcomed the world’s oligarchs and kleptocrats like London has. Yet nestled within the neoliberal dystopia, London’s neighborhoods reflect the long and ongoing struggle to transform Britain’s capital into a self-managed, social-democratic municipality for its residents.
We pay tribute to Michael Sorkin, the architect and writer who died last week after contracting COVID-19. Sorkin spent his life both interpreting and changing cities in the interest of economic justice.
As housing becomes more and more unaffordable, liberal mayors have jumped to recognize the crisis. At the same time, they’re fully committed to the status quo, giving carte blanche to developers at the expense of legitimately affordable housing.
From Tompkins Square to Zuccotti Park, New Yorkers have long resisted their city’s neoliberal housing initiatives.
Under capitalism, housing is never secure for the working class.