The growing problem of forced evictions and the crucial importance of community-based, locally appropriate alternatives

Abstract

This paper outlines the unprecedented scale of forced evictions taking place around the world and the justifications used for these (usually to serve “the public good” or make a city more “efficient”). It also outlines the disastrous consequences for those evicted and how these evictions run counter to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The paper also presents case studies from Johannesburg, Bangkok and Accra, to explore what underlies eviction pressures. In all three, the “public good” is invoked to justify large-scale evictions, but it is not clear that these evictions will actually serve the public good. Furthermore, in all three cases, the government authorities have failed to engage with those threatened with eviction. The paper ends with some examples of constructive engagement between squatters and government authorities, and of the kinds of institutional frameworks that encourage this – but notes that these are too few to turn around the eviction trends.