London's Olympic Village to Provide Low-Income Housing

Development in the lead-up to the Olympics often means catastrophe for the homeless. In 2008, Beijing attracted criticism following the announcement of an intended 'social clean-up'. A 2007 study by the UK Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions demonstrated that, since 1988, more than 2 million people worldwide had been forced out of their homes to provide space for the games.

Journalist George Monbiot has described the Olympics as 'a licence for land grabs'. He recalls that, in Seoul, 'homeless people, alcoholics, beggars and the mentally ill were rounded up and housed in a prison camp. The world saw nothing of this: just a glossy new city full of glossy new people.' Last year, in London, the Manor Garden Allotments, which had been in use for a century, 'disappeared for good behind the Blue Wall', despite protests.

The recent decision to transform London's Olympic Village into low-income housing is, therefore, a welcome one. It does not justify or ameliorate repeated disregard for the homeless, but it's an effort in the right direction.

Having provided beds for 17,000 weary athletes, the area is being taken into the hands of a developer based in Qatar. Fifty per cent of the buildings will be up for private rental, with the remainder run by a local housing authority. Six-month contracts promise flexibility to tenants in need of short-term accommodation, and communal and commercial facilities, including schools, a medical centre, offices, stores and eateries, will be available. At least 100 houses will welcome their first residents this August.

[via PSFK]