Intraurban in London Author(s): Kevin C. Kearns Reviewed work(s): Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Dec., 1979), pp. 589-598 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of American Geographers Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563131 . Accessed: 26/04/2012 16:07

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http://www.jstor.org INTRAURBAN SQUATTING IN LONDON*

KEVIN C. KEARNS

ABSTRACT. Intraurbansquatting in Western,industrialized society differs sig- nificantlyfrom Third World squatting.As a humanadaptive mechanism for coping withintensified housing stress this variant type involves the occupation,renovation, and reutilizationof existinginner urban buildings.It servesa practicalfunction in urbanecology and conservationand it is increasinglyaccepted by housingauthorities on its economicmerits. Squatting in Britainemerged a decade ago, closelyparallel- ing similarmovements in otherEuropean countries.London, where the squatter populationhas grownto 30,000, has become the quintessentialmodel. Squatting has become a viable, alternativeform of tenurewhich fills a distinctivegap in Lon- don's increasinglyexclusive housing structure.Squats may be typed accordingto theirownership, legal status,and mode of habitation.Large squattercommunities oftenfunction democratically and have enduring,stable social organization.Some squattercommunities are "authorized"and eventuallybecome legal housingcoop- erativeswith permanent tenure status.

SQUATTING is most commonlyassociated reutilizationof inner-urbanbuildings is a vari- withdeveloping countries in whichrural to ant type of squattingsymptomatic of urban urbanmigration has led to thecreation of shan- maladies in many large, Westerncities; it is tytown-typesettlements on theurban periphery. found in "most European countries."2Squat- Intraurbansquatting in Westernindustrialized tinghas flourishedin Britain,where London's nations differsin form and functionfrom its squatterpopulation has reached30,000. Squat- Third World counterparts.'Renovation and tinghas come to be regardedas a "significant factorin housingprovision."3 Dr. Kearns is Associate Professor of Geography at Squatting is now well advanced in Great The Universityof Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO Britain, Italy, Spain, France, Denmark, and 80639. The Netherlandsand it is increasingin Sweden and WestGermany. Close communicationlinks * The field research for this study was conducted in London during the summer of 1978. The author have been establishedover the past fiveyears would like to express his gratitude to the following amongvarious European squattercommunities, persons for their kind assistance in the preparation of particularlyBritish, Dutch, and Italian. Squat- this paper: Piers Corbyn, London Squatters Union; ting has spread from London to other large Diana Shelley, Advisory Service for Squatters; Jim citiesin Britainand the totalpopulation is esti- Wintour, Shelter; and Stephen Platt, Squatters Self- Help Housing Resource Library. I am especially in- matedat morethan 50,000. In The Netherlands debted to members of the Huntley Street Squatters squattingcommenced in 1968 and by 1975 Communityfor their confidence and cooperation. therewere squattersin "almost everytown and city" in the country.In Italy, where squatting 1 There is an almost total absence of reliable infor- tends to be more politicized,there are now mation on intraurban squatters. London squatters are highlycautious and skeptical of inquiry because of the squattingorganizations in all the largercities. fragilityof their legal and tenure situation. Most of the communitiesI located were detected in three ways. inspected. A balanced sample was sought in terms of First, throughforays into areas "generally reputed" to squat type, location, population size, longevity, and be squatted; second, with assistance from the London legal status. Communities chosen had been in existence Squatters Union, Advisory Service for Squatters, and from six months to over eight years, allowing for ob- the Squatters Self-Help Housing Resource Library-a servation of the evolutionary process. method particularlyvaluable since these organizations 2 Mark Gimson, Caroline Lwin, and Nick Wates, are staffedwith squatters or exsquatters; and third,by "Squatting: The Fourth Arm of Housing?," Archi- tapping the squatter's "bush telegraph." Of the forty- tecturalDesign, April, 1976, p. 211. nine communities located, eighteen were visited and 3 Gimson, op. cit., footnote 2.

ANNALS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS Vol. 69, No. 4, December 1979 ? 1979 by the Association of American Geographers. Printed in U.S.A. 589 590 KEVIN C. KEARNS December

Squattersin Amsterdam,who numberat least In London abandonmenthas claimed not 8,000, are especiallywell organized. The largest only dilapidatedproperty but also structurally and best knownsquatter community in Europe sound and habitabledwellings. Grandiose gov- is "Christiania" in Copenhagen, with over ernmentredevelopment schemes have meant 1,000 members. depopulationof entireneighborhoods. Budget- The squattingmovement in Britainhas pro- ary problems, constructiondelays, and mis- gressedmore rapidly primarily because thecon- managementof housing stock, particularly nine- ditions which breed squatting are amplified. teenth-centurybuildings, have left abandoned London squattersalso benefitedinitially from propertiesin desuetudefor years. the liberalityof Britishtrespass law. In 1977 Developments in the private rental sector a newCriminal Trespass Law was passed bring- have exacerbated housing stress. Increasingly ingBritish legislation more closelyin line with poor returnson rentedaccommodations have thatof otherEuropean countries,but withno reduced incentivesfor landlords to rent; it is measurableeffect on squatting.It is important oftenmore profitable to vacate buildingsfor re- to notethat squatting is conductedin European developmentor to seek land speculationprofit. countrieswith greatly differing legal, social, and Governmentimprovement grants provide the politicalsystems, testimony to its potentialfor impetus for "gentrification"whereby owners transference. upgradeproperty from densely populated, rela- tivelycheap, flatsto owner-occupiedor more SQUATTING IN LONDON expensive rental accommodations. Between Most large British cities suffera housing 1961 and 1971 London's rentalsector declined shortage but London is measurably worse. by twenty-fourpercent, resulting in thegradual Thirty-fivepercent of the city'shouseholds live exclusion of lower-incomegroups, childless at a densityof morethan 1.5 personsper room, couples, single adults, and young people from compared with 16.1 percent elsewhere in affordablehousing.8 Britain. Only four percent of the country's Contraction of the private rental sector householdshave to sharetheir home; the figure forcedthe government to assume a greaterrole in the capital is twentypercent.4 Many of the in housing.One-quarter of London's population more than 100,000 emptygovernment-owned is now government-housed.But an inequitable houses in London remainunoccupied for five housing allocation system places differential to ten years, yet there are 190,000 homeless constraintson needygroups. Borough authori- familieson housingcouncil waitinglists.5 An- ties forgetheir own housingpolicies and most other51,000 privatelyheld propertiesare un- accept only familieson waitinglists. Childless occupied,one-fifth of whichhave been vacant couples, when approved, are always accorded forat least two years.6The homelessreside in lowestpriority. Young personsand singleadults "temporary"government shelters or withrela- are the mostvictimized. Most housingcouncils tives or friendsunder stressful,often intoler- refuseto even accept applicationfrom anyone able, conditions.7 underage thirty.9 Squattingbegan in London in 1968 with a 4 "Housing Quagmire," The Economist, Jan. 1, series of calculated token squats to appraise 1977, p. 27. public attitudesand testlegal strategy.Authori- 5 "Council Concerns," The Economist, Jan. 1, 1977, ties unsuccessfullyattempted illegal evictions.10 p. 30. 6 Shelter Report on Bed and Breakfast (London: A From inception,the news media played a vital Shelter Publication, 1974), p. 40. role in squattingcampaigns by marshallingpub- 7 In Britain homeless families are officiallyregarded lic sympathybehind squatters. In 1969 housing as "those without a home, however inadequate, that they can call their own." The problems of housing councils startedrelinquishing short-life, empty stressand are graphically described and fullydocumented in: Ron Bailey, The Homeless and "The Ghosts of Landlords Past," The Economist, the Empty Houses (Harmondsworth, England: Pen- Jan. 1, 1977, p. 30. guin Books, Ltd., 1977); Shelter's Submission to the 9 Jane Morton, "Who'll House the Single?," New Department of the Environment: Review of Home- Society, March 25, 1976, p. 664. lessness (London: A Shelter Publication, 1975); and 10 For a lively and detailed historical account of Blunt Powers-Sharp Practices: A Survey of Local the early squatting campaigns of the late sixties refer AuthorityPolicies on Homelessiiess (London: A Shel- to Ron Bailey, The Squatters (Harmondsworth, En- ter Publication, 1976). gland: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1973). 1979 SQUATTING IN LONDON 591 propertiesto squatterson an authorizedbasis. law and deportation.Approximately half the Between 1969 and 1972 squattingwas orderly eligiblepopulation is fullyemployed and a fifth and regulated,restricted exclusively to families. are recipientsof some formof unemployment Familysquatting groups propagated, developing benefits.The remainingone-third is comprised theirown waitinglists. In 1972 the characterof chieflyof studentsand part-timeor self-em- squattingchanged dramaticallybecause of a ployed persons. Many communitiesinclude a markedupsurge in youngand singlesquatters, numberof professionals,usually teachersand the outbreak of unauthorized, spontaneous social workers.'4Very few squattersare politi- squatting,and theincursion of some publicper- cal radicals or "social drop-outs." manent-stockhousing and privateproperties." Between 1972 and 1975 squattingproliferated SQUATTING AS A FORM both sociallyand spatiallythroughout London; OF HOUSING TENURE the populationincreased from 1,500 to nearly Squattinghas become a viable, alternative 25,000. form of tenurewhich, though extralegal,has Most squatters come from the privately achieveda de facto statusin London's housing rentedsector, casualties of risingrates, deterio- sector. Like other tenureforms it has certain ratingconditions, congestion, and landlordha- economicand social advantages. rassment.Unaffordable rental fees is the prin- cipal stimulus. The second largest group is Selectionand Occupation comprisedof those previouslyliving with rela- Most "squattable" dwellingsare detectedby tives or friendsunder strainedconditions. In means of the squatters "bush telegraph," a 1976 therewere an estimated8,000 youngpeo- highly effective oral information channel, or ple "sleeping rough" in the city.12 through the assistance of an extensive network of squatter advisory organizations.15 Squatters DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE ordinarily research property ownership and re- Squattersare a compositeof diversesocial, development plans prior to occupation.'6 Public occupational,educational, and political types. property is much preferredto private holdings The sharedexperience of housingstress is their since eviction procedures must be routed common bond. Indeed, they commonlyform through the bureaucratic labyrinth, ensuring "unholy alliances" integratingdisparate types delays often lasting years. Private owners often which"would nevercome togetherin any other resort to illegal, forceable eviction. Also, most way."'3Nonetheless, there are some identifiable squatters have a strongpsychological and moral characteristics. hesitation about invasion of private property. London squatters strongly reflect those The act of squatting usually assumes the form groups most excluded fromthe rental sector. of clandestine nocturnal entry. Daylight occu- They are characteristicallyyoung, about ninety pation is best accomplished by squatters posing percentbetween ages twentyand thirty-five;few as workmen or as legal agents.17 Once en- are over forty-five.Two-thirds are single and about sixtypercent are male. About seventy- 14 The general squatter population also reflects a high proportion of artists, musicians, and craftsmen fivepercent are nativeto the UnitedKingdom; who do not conform to normal full-timeemployment the remainingquarter originatemostly from categories and who often have an especially difficult Ireland,the Caribbean,Africa, and Asia. New time findingrental accommodations. immigrantsrarely squat, fearing violation of the 15 These organizations, staffedlargely by squatters, provide both practical and moral support. They orga- nize and conduct individual or group squats, provide 11 Unauthorized squatting firsterupted in the Bor- legal and economic advice, and publish useful, infor- ough of Camden where universitystudents, unable to mative newslettersand newspapers. secure housing throughnormal channels, squatted sev- 16 This information may be obtained easily from eral council flats. This promptlytriggered squatting in various planning or tax departments and from the adjacent boroughs. Though seizure and occupation of Land RegistryOffice. private propertywas on a vary limited scale, it was 17 Many borough housing councils have devised highlypublicized and often grossly exaggerated. "counter-squatting" tactics, such as camouflaging 12 Bailey, op. cit., footnote 7, p. 51. their more valuable, empty properties with curtains 13 Interview with Stephen Platt, staff member, and window artifactsto create an authentic "lived-in" Squatters Self-Help Housing Resource Library, July appearance; such counterfeitploys seldom fool squat- 31, 1978. ters. Some authorities have a policy of "gutting" 592 KEVIN C. KEARNS December

All~~~ D~~~~~~~~

FIG. 1. Unauthorizedindividual squat fortified against eviction threat by housing authorities. sconced, squattersmay not be legally evicted Economic Aspects of Squatting withoutcourt possession orders. Gas and elec- The most apparent benefit is that squatters tricitycompanies are compelledby law to pro- avoid rental or mortgage payments, incurring vide service to all "occupiers," but many only repair costs of theirown choosing and util- squatterssimply devise alternativesto standard ity fees, often shared. Most squats are in ill- utilities.18Unauthorized squatters live in "legal repair fromneglect or vandalism but potentially limbo" under the omnipresentthreat of evic- quite habitable. Authorities contend that it is tion. Still, many prefer the uncertaintiesof not economically feasible to rehabilitate such squattingto theinherent problems and insecuri- properties for short-term occupancy, though tiesof tenancy. most could be restored to acceptable shape for $4,000 to $5,000.19 Squatters renovate housing for a fractionof this amount and in far less time structuresas a deterrent to squatting by removing with voluntary labor, mutual aid, shared tools stairways and floorboards, dismantling plumbing fix- and expertise, unorthodox and second-hand tures,and tearing out electrical wiring. This "munici- pal vandalism" has been effectivelyexposed by squat- materials, innovation, and determination. They ters and has created public backlash against housing are uninhibited and imaginative in shaping their authorities. physical environment. Structural modifications, 18Whether the term "occupiers" includes squatters such as removal of walls between rooms or flats, is legally uncertain but most gas and electricitycom- or constructionof extensions, are casually made panies have a policy of supplying them with service. to meet specific space requirements.20 Many squattersprefer to use calor gas tanks, electrical generators,paraffin stoves, and oil lamps since they 19 Bailey, op. cit., footnote 7, p. 15. are portable and may be conveniently moved from 20 Several squatter communities have removed ex- one squat to another. terior walls and paved terraces to establish large 1979 SQUATTING IN LONDON 593

- Inner London Boundary Major Roads x 5 - 9 \ ~ ~~ City of London| X Authorized Squatter Communityin Transition to Housing Cooperative

\O / ? 0 Authorized Squatter Communityin \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~Short - Life Property \X I \ 0, * Unauthorized Squatter Community

0 2~~~~~ 0 3

FIG.2. Squattercommunities and major squatteradvisory organizations in boroughsof Inner London.

Turner and others have hypothesizedthat, supportedby the factthat most squatters at the because of theirrights of autonomy,many Latin communitiesI visitedexhibited a strongsense Americansquatters are actually"better housed of accomplishmentand pride in home posses- in absolute terms" (meaning self-expression sion, preferringthe retentionof dwellercontrol and personal fulfillment)than the materially over theirsquat to acceptance of rehousingin wealthierurban poor in NorthAmerica.21 This council tenantestates.

suppositionmay be appliedto London squatters TYPOLOGY OF SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS who enjoy a measure of dweller control and self-managementdenied the majorityof regu- Most public propertyin London belongs to eitherborough housing councils or the Greater larizedBritish tenants; they, too, may be better London Council (G.L.C.), an autonomousau- housed in theabsolute sense. This contentionis thoritywith housing stock distributedthrough- out the city.Public real estate is also held by flower and vegetable gardens, creating a rural ambi- ence amid the sterilityof surrounding urban struc- assorted governmentagencies, health depart- tures. ments,railroad companies, and educationalin- 21 Robert Fichter, John F. C. Turner, and Peter stitutions.Government housing stock is classi- Grenell, "The Meaning of Autonomy," in John F. C. fiedas "short-life,"scheduled for demolition or Turner and Robert Fichter, eds., Freedom to Build: Dweller Control of the Housing Process (New York: renovation,or "permanentpool," suitable for Macmillan Co., 1972), pp. 241-54; reference on tenancy.Most squats are the council-owned, p. 242. short-lifetype. An estimated 1,700 borough 594 KEVIN C. KEARNS December

FIG. 3. Authorized "Villa Road" squatters community. One hundred and forty squatters fully renovated the entire block of unoccupied, council-owned flats and emblazoned the end wall with "cosmic" mural.

council propertiesin Inner London are occu- untilthe propertyis required.24Licensing is a pied by about 20,000 squatters,or about sev- form of legitimizationwhich grants security enty percent of the population.22Approxi- fromsudden eviction. It also places squattingin mately 5,000 more reside in 1,500 G.L.C. a quasilegalframework with some semblanceof buildings.Ninety-five percent of this stock is containmentand regulationby authoritiesand short-life.Probably no morethan three percent allows for a more equitable distributionof of the squatter population reside in private squattableproperties. Licensed squats symbol- between trespasser property. ize a "halfway house" status and officialtenancy. Authorizationis In termsof legal status,squats are "autho- based on a "no rent, no repairs" condition rized" or "unauthorized."23 Unauthorized whichfrees owners from any responsibility.A squats have no officialsanction and are usually nominal "license fee" ($2 and $5 average) is the most fragile,impermanent type (Fig. 1). usuallyassessed. Authorizedsquats are thoselicensed by owners Licensingof squats has acceleratedmarkedly permittingsquatters to remain in occupation over the last few years. In London's local au- thorityhousing sector rentsnow fail to cover 22 Department of the Environment Consultation Document: Squatting (London: London Boroughs As- 24 This permission is usually given in writing,but sociation), Sept. 10, 1975, p. 1. sometimes it is simply granted verbally. Squatters may 23 Squatting is also commonly referredto as "law- refuse to vacate the premise when requested to do so ful" and "unlawful" or "legal" and "illegal." These and demand to be rehoused or resquatted before re- designations are inappropriate since squatting is not linquishment of their present squat. Also, when technicallyan illegal act under British law; it is better evicted, it is possible to resquat the same property, viewed as extralegal. therebyinitiating the entire legal process again. 1979 SQUATTING IN LONDON 595

N ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FIG. 4. Striking contrast between semirenovated squatter community on left and fully modernized, middle-income rental property on right. This is a typical "transitional zone" in terms of economic, demographic, and structuralchange.

even halfthe totalcosts, requiring massive gov- presentlyin thistransitional process (Fig. 2).27 ernmentsubsidies. Conversely,squatters as- Housingcooperatives can applyfor government sume full responsibilityfor repairs, mainte- subsidies to lease or purchase theirproperty. nance,supervision, and managementat no cost This legitimizesthe community and confersper- to authorities.Hence, in many Inner London manenttenure rights similar to those achieved boroughssquatters have provena more profit- by Third World squattersresiding in legalized able propositionthan rent-paying tenants.25 All settlements.Borough councils increasingly sup- boroughs now license squats largely on the port the conceptof transformingsquatter com- munitiesinto housing cooperatives since it is an basis of cost-efficiency.Of the 1,700 council- efficientand effectivesolution to the housing ownedproperties, 750 have been licensed,and problem. about fortypercent of all squats in London are The forty-ninesquatter communities I identi- now authorized.26 fiedranged in size fromabout 25 to nearly400 Squats may evolve fromunauthorized to li- members.Geographical foundations are impor- censedstatus and eventuallymay become regis- tantfor communaldevelopment. Entire blocks teredhousing cooperatives. Ten squattercom- providethe ideal territorialbase. Occupationof munities,including several of the largest,are

27 This process requires registrationwith the Hous- 25 Stephen Platt, Self-Help, Squatting, and Public ing Department, including a fee of $170, acquisition Policy: A Discussion Paper (London: Squatters Self- of legal services, writtendefinition of objectives, and Help Housing Resource Library Publication, 1977), adoption of a formal constitution.Normally only the p. 6. better organized squatter communities are able to ful- 26 Department of the Environment Consultation fill such requirements and it demands a long-term Document: Squatting, op. cit., footnote 22, p. 1. group commitment. 596 KEVIN C. KEARNS December

Heavily Squatted

,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~a:

C~~CadnGGrewc INRLONDONBRUH I Islington S Sout~~~~~~Lihwarkuate

C Camdn..Greewic I~~~~~~~~~~~~~I.:::to IIouhw r

H Hackney L Lambeth

FIG. 5. Relative rates of squattingin the twelve boroughs of Inner London. both street sides enforces physical cohesion. tions to defend "our street" or "our block" Wherethis is not possible,adjacent flats within (Fig. 3). Few squats have been preplannedas the same block are best. Separated dwelling communes promisinga utopian lifestyleand units impede social integration.Squatters de- these social experimentshave been ephemeral. velop a strongsense of place and territorial LOCATION identificationand most adopt place names for FACTORS IN GEOGRAPHICAL their communities,such as "Huntley Street," Squatting coincides with major redevelop- "Villa Road," "St. AgnesPlace," and "Tolmer's mentdistricts and otherinner city zones of tran- Square." They forgea sense of communityand sition.Almost all squattedareas are character- perceivedterritoriality becomes an integralfac- ized by some formof economic,demographic, torin groupsolidarity, as evidencedby exhorta- or structuralupheaval (Fig. 4). Most are lower- 1979 SQUATTING IN LONDON 597

~~~~~~~ NO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~T

FIG. 6. Unauthorized, 160-member Huntley Street Squatters community,in occupation of vacated inner city block for nearly three years, fully barricaded against anticipated eviction siege during summer of 1978. income, working-classneighborhoods, many portantin organizingand supportingcollective withsome immigrantpopulation. The disinvest- squatting. mentof privatecapital fromthese districtshas The processes of urban change and renewal led to the wholesale purchase of deteriorating whichhave createdvacant structures in London buildings by the government.For example, are essentiallyduplicated in othersquatted Eu- Camden's housingcouncil annuallyacquires as ropean cities.In Amsterdamsquatting has been manyas 400 such propertiesfor its designated concentratedin the inner city redevelopment 'general improvementareas." area of Niewmarkt,and in Copenhagen it is Squattingoccurs in all twelveInner City bor- found along the older central city waterfront oughs,though relative rates vary (Fig. 5). In district.Much the same applies in Turin,Paris, Islington,Camden, and Tower Hamletsthe cor- Madrid, and Stockholm.Though squattingis relationbetween housing stress and squattingis most closely associated with older, inner-city especially pronounced. All are "bed-sitter" areas in varyingdegrees of transformation,it is communitieswhere high proportionsof young by no means restrictedto "blighted"zones. It people, singleadults, and childlesscouples live also pervades healthy, stable neighborhoods in congestedconditions. Westminster, Camden, where propertyparcels scheduled for conver- and Islington are regarded as "trendy"bor- sion have been leftin vacancy.Squats are com- oughs noted for a liberal ambience generally monlyfound amid patches of gentrificationor attractiveto squatters.Conversely, Greenwich, contiguous to thrivingcommercial districts as an outlier borough, is atypical, removed (Fig. 6). physicallyand socially fromthe pulse of city CONCLUSION center.Lightly squatted Lewisham and South- Squattingoffers a viable, alternativeform of wark lack major squatteradvisory groups im- housing tenurein the urban ecology of cities 598 KEVIN C. KEARNS December experiencingredevelopment and demographic lels betweensquatting in London and elsewhere change.In manyinner urban zones of transition are readilyapparent. there exists a growingneed for such "experi- Squattingis now favorablyviewed by many ments in alternativeforms of tenure."28One housingauthorities on thebasis of its economic urban analystof London, notingthat the tradi- merits.That squattersare capable of "restoring tional,unplanned city had a space foreveryone, and improvinghouses . .. at an infinitelylower butthat planned "redeveloped, improved" cities cost and much more rapidlythan the councils" admitonly a restrictedrange of citizens,postu- has become an economic verity.32Within this lated that:29 context,squatting is increasinglyregarded as an eminentlysensible and economical use of un- The squatters movement . .. is a completely legiti- a mate and natural expression of the principle of re- occupied urban structures.Squatters serve quisite variety, filling part of the gap, since there valuable function by efficientlyrenovating are whole categories of people who will never be short-lifeproperty for temporaryoccupation. housed by the [regular] modes of tenure. More important,they fully rehabilitatelarge residentialparcels for permanenthabitation. Intraurbansquatting has not been confined The transformationof squatter communities to the European realm.For example,there has intolegalized, permanent-tenure housing coop- recentlybeen a significantemergence of squat- eratives brings about a better utilizationof ting in the central urban districtof , physical and human resources. Furthermore, Australia,where conditionsof urban renewal, thisis consistentwith the incipientphilosophy, population displacement,and housing alloca- now widely embraced by urban planners,of tion inequitiesseem to fit the European pat- preservingolder buildingsand "saving" neigh- tern.30There have been several manifestations borhoods.By theireconomic and social revitali- in citiesof the United of groupsquatting large zation of moribundneighborhoods, squatters States,most notablyNew York, Boston, New- oftenhalt local degenerativetrends. ark,and Philadelphia.In theearly 1970s squat- Ward concludes that squattinghas now be- tingin New York Citywas recognizedas having come one of the "normal modes of tenurein "become a movement. .. an open challengeto London and many othercities."33 Whether or the planningprocess."'31 New York squatters not squattingis "normal"is highlyarguable; but werereferred to as "people pushedto thelimit" it has irrefutablybecome widely"accepted" by by the housingbureaucracy. Hence, the paral- authoritiesas an alternativetenure form. That all InnerLondon boroughsnow license squats, 28 Colin Ward, Housing: An Anarchist Approach and fullyforty percent of the city's squatted (London: Freedom Press, 1976), p. 171. propertieshave been authorized,is testimonyto 29 Ward, op. cit., footnote 28. the and approval being accorded 30 "Squatting in Australia," Squatters News (Lon- acceptance don: London Squatters Union Publication), Nov. 9, squatting.This is furtherbuttressed by the fact 1977, p. 5; and "Sydney Squatters," Squatters News thatsquatting is well entrenchedin otherEuro- (London: London Squatters Union publication), Nov. pean countriesand at least three,Spain, Den- 23, 1977, p. 5. Sydney squatters are well organized, mark, and The Netherlands, have adopted highlyunified, and already have a squatter newspaper in publication. squatterlicensing policies similarto Britain's. 31 Lisa Jorgenson, "New York's Squatters: Van- guard of Community Control?," City, Vol. 5, No. 5, 32 Ward, op. cit., footnote 28, p. 96. 1971, p. 35. 33 Ward, op. cit., footnote 28, p. 33.