Invitation to the IPW Lecture “We’re Not Going Anywhere!” Urban Struggles for Housing and Against the Criminalization of Homelessness.
Lecturers: Elisabeth Hammer (neunerhaus/BAWO), Michele Lancione (University of Sheffield) & Nóra Teller (Metropolitan Research Institute Budapest)
Moderation: Claudia Strate (Department of Political Science, University of Vienna)
When: Thursday, 28 March 2019, 19:00
Where: Die Labile Botschaft, Salesianergasse 10, 1030 Vienna
Abstract:
Homelessness is frequently considered to be and framed as an individual failure, disregarding the structural dimension of the problem. This becomes especially apparent in public discourse by populist parties and in prioritizing business over public interest when it comes to housing policies and urban development. The panel starts with a short sequence from the film It started raining (A început ploaia, 2017), documenting the eviction of the residents of Strada Vulturilor 50, mostly Roma, and their struggle against authorities in Bucharest in 2014. This case also shows the various ways homelessness intersects with other forms of discrimination, with racism, gender and class relations. The criminalization of homelessness is widespread, on statutory levels as well as within daily practices, as recent developments in Hungary or Austria display.
While day centers and shelters can provide temporary relief and some security, approaches like Housing First and ambulant support on local and international levels aim for more inclusion and empowerment for people fighting for their right to housing. With a focus on Austria and Central and Eastern Europe, the panel will approach questions of housing and homelessness in its social complexity and urgency, bringing together shared knowledge from social and academic work and activism within civil society and beyond.
The full documentary A început ploaia/It started raining (2017, 70min) by Michele Lancione will be screened at Die Labile Botschaft at 17:00.
An event within the IPW Lectures, an international lecture series of the Department for Political Science, University of Vienna.
