Looking Down the Wrong End of the Telescope.

 

"So! As we can clearly see, this housing problem is not as big as Z2K are saying!"

Human Rights and Housing

Welcome to the first issue of the Z2K Housing Review, an innovative on line video journal providing expert view, opinions and the stories of real people focusing on housing policy in the UK. This journal has come about after the Z2K Memorandum to the Prime Minister in 2005 was simply not understood by those at the pinacle of housing policy. In response to the memorandum's explicit arguments that increased borrowing levels would lead to economic catastrophe the Treasury official in charge of housing stated that everything was o.k. as long as the market worked and as the market was working there was no problem.

Currently, all the warnings that Z2K are producing, all of the evidence for a need for a long term strategic housing policy (something that has never happened before) are also being being treated to the same cavalier responses. So Z2K are putting their evidence and the witness testimony of those working in housing, those developing housing and those who have to live with the consequences of the absence of coherrent, strategic and holistic policy, plainly on record and as a matter of public debate. The Z2K Housing Review aims to become a powerful resource base for academics, policy makers, the building industry and politicians and the ability for any interested party to use this resource, quote from testimony, provide video evidence to support proposals, marks a leading innovation in the national housing debate.

How does the Z2K Housing Review work?

Below you will find a contents page and by clicking on the thumbnail image next to each content item you will open the relevant video series on the Z2K Housing Review Channel on HumanRights TV. On the channel you will find all the tools to embed any piece of video into your own sites, blogs and social networking spaces. The more you use this resource and embed or link to video then the further the message spreads. If you would like any advice or help then you can e-mail info@humanrightstv.com for support.

Issue One: Contents

 

What can we do to produce an holistic housing policy?

Professor Peter Ambrose, Paul Nicolson, Stephen Hill and Adrian Cooper met on Friday 27th March 2009 to have a round table discussion about the problems facing housing policy in this country. This discussion provides an insight into the issues facing builders, planners and policy making in the UK today. This group represents a very powerfully informed set of opinions on housing.

An interview with Stephen Hill.

Stephen Hill has worked in housing planning for over thirty years. He has experience in infrastructure development, has been involved with government policy and worked as a consultant in a variety of ground breaking projects. The insight he brings to the housing debate is equally measured and critical, at times in this interview his opinions leave the viewer shaking their head in disbelief at the poor outcomes which result from expensive investment.

An interview with Adrian Cooper of Team Homes.

This set of videos provides an insight into the problems facing those builders who want to act with social responsibility and establish a viable business model to do so. Adrian Cooper and Team Homes represent progressive commercial thinking and deal with the realities and problems of dealing with institutional inadequacies within the building sector. Adrian is a passionate and highly informed advocate for improvements that will translate into better homes and fairer rents without losing commercial viability.

An interview with Alex Tuck.

Alex Tuck is a consumer of mortgage products and he relates the experience of those who have had to navigate the minefield of those contracts. What makes this interview fascinating is that Alex put a lot of time and personal research into the mortgage contracts he chose. Additionally, he has lived in France and Spain and is able to relate the difference in approach on the continent, testimony from first hand experience. In his professional capacity he has also come across some of the players in the process of financial lending and his own personal opinions on such as the FSA reveal something of the incredulity a lot of home owners now feel at what happened in the housing market in 2008.

An interview with Father John.

Father John is the parish priest at St Mary's Battersea in London. He has worked with London Citizens and the Z2K Trust on trying to improve the lot of people within his parish who suffer from poor housing. This view of people who are too readily cast aside within policy making decisions is crucial to understand the depth of suffering and poverty that is created by the lack of an holistic housing policy.

An interview with John Jackson.

John Jackson grew up in Chelsea and in this interview he discusses the impact on communities when wealth is allowed to
"buy wholesale" specific environments. This is a view of what is lost to people and families when there is an absence of an holistic policy.

An interview with Mr Nakamure of Misawa Homes Tokyo.

This interview is in Japanese and was made in December 2008. There will be a transcript available in due course. The importance of this testimony cannot be overlooked. Misawa Homes are a serious player in the manufacture of homes in Japan. They were happy for us to discuss with them the techniques they employ in industrial manufacture to meet the needs of the Japanese population. This interview demonstrates the Z2K Housing Review's commitment to seek solutions wherever they may be found and to understand that in our global identity we cannot afford to be looking down the wrong end of the telescope.

Paul Nicolson talks about Z2K.

As this is the first of the Z2K Housing Review we felt it would be very useful to understand the work of this charity and the incredible impact it has managed to achieve in so many areas of policy to do with poverty. Poor housing produces poverty and tremendous cost to the tax payer, Paul Nicolson discusses some of the issues that make an holistic housing policy not only necessary but socially and financially sensible.

United Nations: Universal Declaration on Human Rights 1948; reconfirmed at the World Conference on Human Rights 1993 and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

25. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care ... and the right to security in the event ....