Urban Warfare

Raquel Rolnik

ISBN 10: 1788731603 / ISBN 13: 9781788731607

Published by Verso Books, GB, 2019

About this Item

In Urban Warfare, Rolnik charts how the financialisation of housing has become a global crisis, as models of home ownership, originating in the US and UK, are being exported around the world. These developments were largely organised by htosw who benefit the most: construction companies and banks, supported by government-facilitated schemes, such as 'the right to buy', subsidies, and micro-financing. Using examples ranging from Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Chile, Israel, Haiti, the UK and especially Brazil, Rolnik shows how our homes and neighbourhoods have effectively become the "last subprime frontiers of capitalism". This neoliberal colonialism is experienced on the scale of the city but also within our everyday lives. Yet since the financial crisis and wider urban politics that have left millions homeless, forced from their homes because of urban development politics, and mega-events such as the Rio World Cup in 2013. These narratives are weaved together with theoretical reflections and empirical evidence to explain the crisis in depth. In response, Rolnik restates the political need for activism and resistance. Examining in detail the June Days protests in Rio, 2013-14, she shows that housing remains an essential, and global, struggle.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781788731607

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Urban Warfare
• Publisher: Verso Books, GB
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1788731603
• ISBN 13: 9781788731607
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 577 grams

About this title

Synopsis

How finance and politics have caused the global housing crisis

The most comprehensive survey of the current crisis, Urban Warfare charts how the financial crisis and wider urban politics have left millions homeless and in financial desperation across the world.

The financialization of housing has become a global catastrophe, leaving millions desperate and homeless. Since the 2008 financial collapse, models of home ownership, originating in the US and UK, are being exported around the world. Using examples from across the globe, Rolnik shows how our cities have been sold to construction companies and banks, while supported by government-facilitated schemes, such as “the right to buy” subsidies and micro-financing. Our homes and neighbourhoods have become the “last subprime frontiers of capitalism,” organised by those who benefit the most.

About the Author

Raquel Rolnik is a professor of Urban Planning at the University of São Paulo. She was National Secretary for Urban Programmes of the Brazilian Ministry of Cities (2003–2007). From 2008 to 2014, she held the mandate of UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing and visited the US and UK, among other countries, causing some controversy on housing policies.