Shamez Alibhai is head of community housing and portfolio manager at Man GPM
In recent decades, Britain’s housing system has failed to deliver the kind of communities that we need to foster a cohesive, inclusive and meritocratic society. Wherever you sit on the political spectrum, the idea that people ought to be able to flourish no matter where they happen to have been brought up should be a given; the fact that this is still not the case in Britain is a reflection of policies pursued by numerous governments and planners over the course of decades.
We currently have an inflated housing market where median purchase prices have risen to levels far exceeding median incomes twinned with a social-housing programme whose lengthy waiting lists mean only those most acutely in need have a chance of being allocated habitation. As a consequence, key workers, essential workers and so many more are being forced to live in substandard or inappropriate accommodation, left behind by the market
.
As the pandemic enters its second year, millions of renters are struggling with a loss of income and with the insecurity of not knowing how long they will have a home. Their savings depleted, they are running up credit card debt to make the rent or accruing months of overdue payments. Families are moving in together, offsetting the cost of housing by finding others to share it.
The nation has a plague of housing instability that was festering long before COVID-19, and the pandemic’s economic toll has only made it worse. Now the financial scars are deepening and the disruptions to family life growing more severe, leaving a legacy that will remain long after mass vaccinations.
The Left-NIMBY canon
We’re all familiar by now with Right-NIMBYs conservatives who block transit and housing development in order to keep poor people and minorities out of their quiet white-flight suburban neighborhoods. These are still the most common kind, given that Republicans tend to value low-density communities while Democrats tend to value denser, more walkable places. But liberals can be NIMBYs as well, as any resident of a deep-blue state or city well knows.
But leftists can be NIMBYs as well (and remember, leftists and liberals are generally different people). In various cities, concerns over gentrification, environmental preservation, and profits for private developers have hardened into a sort of Left-NIMBY Canon a standardized, off-the-shelf package of beliefs, attitudes, and arguments that are easy to deploy in opposition to nearly any proposed housing or transit project.
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The holiday season is supposed to be a time when families gather together to exchange gifts and appreciation. But this year’s holiday season has already been irretrievably altered by the coronavirus pandemic.
There’s even more of a challenge to celebrate for some families as 2020 gives way to a new year – the real fear of
homelessness.
According to
The Philadelphia Inquirer, millions of Americans will face evictions once federal moratoriums expire at the end of the year. Congress stalled for months on renewing the
CARES Act, which would have assisted with extending unemployment benefits and federal eviction protection. What they fail to realize is some people are quickly running out of viable options.