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squatters

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The exterior of a building, with lettering that reads "Resistencia" with a mural of a fist extending upward.

Trying to Transform Squats into Public Housing in São Paulo

In São Paulo, vacant housing units outnumber the unhoused, 12 times over. Across the city, residents have responded by seizing abandoned buildings to turn them into affordable housing. Will the government step up to convert these buildings into public housing?

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View of a Chicago neighborhood and the city skyline
Housing

Squatters Ask Chicago: Why So Many Vacancies?

Officials in Chicago are struggling to address the city’s homelessness and housing crises. So why does the Chicago Public Housing Authority have one of the highest rates of vacancy in the country?

A city scene in Newark New Jersey.
Community Control

Looking Back: Democratic Philanthropy, Newark on the Rise, the Surplus Land Campaign, and More

In this first installment of updates to Shelterforce articles of old, we find that market dynamics are different in many places we’ve written about, but many of the organizations fighting the good fight are continuing to do so, even in changed times.

Housing

Homeless Mothers in California Show How Radical Housing Activism Becomes Lasting Change

Moms 4 Housing and LA Reclaimers have proven that successful grassroots organizing can turn headline-grabbing occupations into long-term affordable housing.

Housing

‘We Need Those Houses’­—Activists Take Over Vacant Housing Authority-Owned Homes

About 50 people—mostly single mothers and their children—have been living in vacant Philadelphia Housing Authority units since March. The move-ins are both acts of necessity and a political protest against the PHA.

Squatters occupy the Arion building in Seattle after it sat vacant for months. There are signs that read "Operation Homestead" and "It's Alive" outside the large white building.
Housing

History Shows that in Times of Crisis, Housing Activists Get Radical

A recent spate of vacant home occupations echo squatters campaigns of the past.

homemade cardboard sign says "Affordable Housing Now!"
Housing

Direct Action for Housing

Direct action protest tactics for affordable housing can support efforts of lobbying groups.

Housing

Turf Wars

Squatters, or homesteaders, in New York City renovate abandoned buildings – and then try to prevent eviction by the city.