The questions we were posed for possible discussion on this panel, even if I were qualified to try and answer them all, would take up the rest of this day at least. So I want to focus on just one question, which I think is coming into sharper focus in the UK, and which relates … Continue reading Housing Crisis or Capitalist Crisis? ASH Presentation at the Platypus Society European Conference 2018
Maintain, Refurbish, Invest: Siemensstadt Housing Estate, Berlin
Constructed between 1929 and 1931 to house the 60,000 workers employed in the Siemens factory, the Siemansstadt housing estate is located in the Berlin suburbs of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Working to the masterplan by Hans Scharoun, a number of the world’s most innovative architects of the time, including Walter Gropius, Hans Scharoun, Hugo Häring and Paul … Continue reading Maintain, Refurbish, Invest: Siemensstadt Housing Estate, Berlin
This Charming Man: Jeremy Corbyn and The Smiths
Why pamper life’s complexity When the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat? – Morrissey On Saturday I went to see The Smyths, a Smiths and Morrissey tribute band, at the O2 Academy Islington, a soulless venue inside the soulless Angel Central shopping centre. It’s the first time I’ve seen the band, and I was … Continue reading This Charming Man: Jeremy Corbyn and The Smiths
Dispossession: The Great Labour Party Swindle
Tonight Paul Sng’s film Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle will have what I think is its last screening of the year at the Chelsea Curzon cinema, and to the excitement of many what the publicity calls ‘the Right Honourable Jeremy Corbyn’ will be in attendance. This is quite a turn around, as when the film first came … Continue reading Dispossession: The Great Labour Party Swindle
Narkomfin: Regenerations, Appropriations, Betrayals
The Narkomfin Building As a third-rate intellectual nation with the most de-politicised working class in Europe, the UK has spent this 100th anniversary year self-satisfyingly dumping on everything we can about the Russian Revolution, while simultaneously shutting our eyes to the extraordinary creativity to which it gave birth – however short-lived – in poetry, literature, painting, … Continue reading Narkomfin: Regenerations, Appropriations, Betrayals
Armed Love: Capitalism, Anarchism and the Russian Revolution
‘The revenge of history is more powerful than the revenge of the most powerful General Secretary.’ – Leon Trotsky How do you mark the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy in which monopoly capitalism has created the greatest income inequality in Europe, and which, because of this, the … Continue reading Armed Love: Capitalism, Anarchism and the Russian Revolution
Social Housing Scrutiny Project: ASH Presentation to Haringey Council Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel
On 29 November 2017, at the invitation of Christian Scade, the Principal Scrutiny Officer at Haringey council, Geraldine Dening of ASH made the following presentation to the cross-party Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel. In attendance were Labour Councillor Emine Ibrahim, Chair of the Panel, Labour Councillor Zena Brabazon, Liberal Democrat Councillor Gail Engert, and Liberal Democrat Councillor Martin Newton, all … Continue reading Social Housing Scrutiny Project: ASH Presentation to Haringey Council Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel
Radiant City: The Marseilles Housing Unit
In April of this year ASH visited the Unité d’habitation in Marseilles, the first and most influential of Le Corbusier’s ‘Housing Units’, which was completed in 1952 and repeated, with variations, in Nantes-Rezé (1955), in Berlin-Westend (1957), in Briey (1963) and in Firminy (1965). Itself considerably influenced by the Narkomfin building in Moscow (1930) designed by the … Continue reading Radiant City: The Marseilles Housing Unit
Achilles Street: Open Garden Estates 2017
As part of this year's Open Garden Estates, Achilles Street residents researched the abundance of wildflowers living in and around their estate. The walk they created out of their discovery reveals the beauty found in unlikely places and raises questions about how we value our urban environment and local communities. Overlooked and unappreciated, these plants, like … Continue reading Achilles Street: Open Garden Estates 2017
The Castle: Freedom of Information and Commercial Confidentiality at Lambeth Co-operative Council
‘Ultimately, I think it’s better to be as transparent and as open as possible, but that does slow things down. But it also means that as we start the consultation residents know that we have looked at all options, that they’ve been robustly tested and scrutinised, and that’s why we can say with confidence that … Continue reading The Castle: Freedom of Information and Commercial Confidentiality at Lambeth Co-operative Council
A Communist in Hong Kong 