Paul Kedrosky did the math…
We need to find uses for all these empty houses, especially in now-vacant tract areas, before they start falling into disrepair, get vandalized, turned into crack houses, etc. There are parts of southern California where brand new developments of housing have virtually no one living there, victims of the housing collapse.
Yet we have homeless. some of whom maybe used to live in such tracts.
How about squatting? That puts empty houses to good use. While in Amsterdam recently I visted two massive squats, both large apartment blocks. The first one was run as a collective with the apartments let out to fund the up-keep, it also had a cafe and a venue for whatever. The other, equally large and a venue for gigs, a sauna, and a wonderful anarchist library. They had been squatted during Hollands property collapse in the 80’s and still function.
If only. Were people to try squatting in, say, Los Angeles, they’d probably get tear-gassed just before the SWAT team charged in. Sure, there’s squatting in Hollywood, but it’s on a very low scale. Massive squatting wouldn’t be tolerated anywhere in the States. No matter how much sense it would make to do so now.
Sounds like an authoritarian fascist state rather than a democracy!!! What about due process of the law to get evictions?
Evictions here happen when you did have a lease / rent / own. If you just move in with none of that you have no rights in the US, unlike the UK and Europe where squatters I believe do have at least some legal rights.
Like I said, sounds like an authoritarian fascist state.