The housing crisis is now global. It shows just how undemocratic our nations have become | Leilani Farha
Source: The Guardian ·
When we can’t even afford to rent or buy somewhere to live, we have to ask: did we give the financial sector too much power?Leilani Farha is the former UN special rapporteur on adequate housingIn the summer of 2021, I visited a homeless community in a park in Toronto, Canada, and spoke to one of the residents. He was living in a tent in the shadow of brand new skyscrapers, and had been homeless…
From the source
In the summer of 2021, I visited a homeless community in a park in Toronto, Canada, and spoke to one of the residents. He was living in a tent in the shadow of brand new skyscrapers, and had been homeless for about five years. At one point he swivelled around, pointed up at a crane on the skyline, and said: “Who are they building those for? Definitely not for me.” He was right. And he captured something experienced by ordinary people around the world: the growing conviction that the housing system is no longer tethered to their needs. What he was pointing at is not just a housing crisis. It is a crisis of democracy. Democracy promises that our living conditions are shaped by all of us, regardless of our station in life. Yet decisions about housing have been systematically removed from democratic control and handed to financial actors such as private equity firms, pension funds and real-estate investment trusts. Working hand in hand with governments and banks, these actors have…
BestAIBroker analysis
- Finance-aware sentiment: slightly negative (-0.30 on a -1 to +1 scale).
- Event classification: OTHER.
- Market importance score: 32/100, weighting entity relevance, source credibility, multi-outlet coverage and recency.