Protest for Housing and Climate Justice at 'The Big One'
Housing campaigners are preparing to join four days of mass protest around Westminster from the 21st to the 24th of April as part of climate justice protests which are expected to attract up to 100,000 people from across the UK.
Dubbed ‘The Big One’, the protests were initiated by Extinction Rebellion and are now supported by dozens of environmental and social justice campaigns. The key demands centre around the need to make a rapid transition to a post-fossil fuel economy and the need to extend democratic participation so that ordinary people have a real say in how that transition takes place.
Reducing the environmental impact of buildings and construction, while also dealing with the housing crisis, is crucially about addressing the glaring inequality in access to land and housing. Why are some people allowed to own multiple energy-guzzling homes while others are forced to live in overcrowded, or cold, damp and overpriced housing? Why is social housing being demolished to make way for luxury new developments when we know that retrofitting and installing renewable energy would not just be more sustainable for the environment but would also safeguard truly affordable social housing for the next generation? Protesters will be discussing the problems, the solutions and how we work together to get results.
The Radical Housing Network as well as other housing campaign groups including Refurbish Don’t Demolish, the Social Housing Action Campaign, Homes for All, the Architects Climate Action Network and the newly launched Housing Rebellion will be focussing their protests at the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) - at the entrance on Horseferry Road, London SW1P 4DF:
There will be a Housing Rebellion stall at the DLUHC entrance on Horseferry Road showcasing information from all the various housing campaigns on Friday 21st of April from 10am to 6pm and again on Monday the 24th of April from 10am to 5pm.
On Friday 21st at 1pm there will be a street theatre performance about a retrofit house
On Monday 24th of April at 4pm there will be a Housing Rally at Horseferry Road before joining thousands of other campaigners to surround parliament at 5pm. A range of speakers will outline the key demands for housing and climate justice, including resident campaigners fighting for refurbishment and against demolition of their homes, and Ciaran Malik ( ACAN ), Sian Berry (Green party London assembly member) and Andrea Gilbert (homelessness activist who helped set up Housing Rebellion).
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to link with thousands of other people who are also angry about the injustice and inequality we face, and are coming together to build a powerful united movement for change.