Push
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Landlords without faces. Apartments without renters. Housing prices are skyrocketing in cities around the world. Incomes are not. PUSH sheds light on a new kind of landlord, our increasingly unlivable cities, and an escalating crisis that impacts us all.
Follow Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, as she travels the globe, speaking with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, sociologist Saskia Sassen, and author Roberto Saviano in an effort to understand who’s being pushed out of the city and why. This is not gentrification, it’s a different kind of monster.
Guardian
"A thought-provoking documentary"
British Film Institute
"Timely. Urgently asks who are cities for, who’s going to live in them, and how will they function when only the rich are there?”
Flickering Myth
"An elegantly structured odyssey that covers thousands of miles, while never losing sight of the ordinary human beings behind the money and the statistics."
The Arts Desk
"Although the topic is of major importance, making a feature length documentary that holds one's attention is a real challenge; but fast pace, good interviews... and the inspiring example of Leilani Farha all make this a must."
Screen International
"Fredrik Gertten's lively, approachable documentary on the global housing crisis should leave audiences feeling engaged, enraged and with plenty to discuss afterwards."
Citation
Main credits
Jangård, Margarete (film producer)
Gertten, Fredrik (film director)
Gertten, Fredrik (film producer)
Gertten, Fredrik (screenwriter)
Farha, Leilani (on-screen participant)
Sassen, Saskia (on-screen participant)
Stiglitz, Joseph E. (on-screen participant)
Saviano, Roberto (on-screen participant)
Other credits
Editor, Erik Wall Bafving; cinematographers, Janice D'Avila and Iris Ng; composer, Florencia Di Concilio.
Distributor subjects
Urban Studies; Democracy & Social Movement; Capitalism & Inequality; Politics; PolicyKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:32.459 --> 00:00:34.999
You can come in, you know.
00:00:35.125 --> 00:00:38.375
There\'s no place to sit, but you\'re
welcome to stand over here by the bar.
00:00:38.542 --> 00:00:41.626
I didn\'t know there was so many of you.
Go out! Go out!
00:00:42.459 --> 00:00:45.959
My friends, during this song,
I\'m going to make a toast.
00:00:46.083 --> 00:00:49.125
If you want
to join in this community moment,
00:00:49.292 --> 00:00:51.542
raise your hand and be counted.
00:00:51.709 --> 00:00:54.918
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
00:00:55.042 --> 00:00:56.334
8, 9, 10...
00:01:01.083 --> 00:01:03.167
20, 21, 22...
00:01:05.250 --> 00:01:09.667
22, I think we\'re at. 23, 24...
00:01:09.834 --> 00:01:12.999
Know the first sign that you\'re going
to have to leave your neighborhood?
00:01:13.125 --> 00:01:17.417
It\'s when vintage
clothing shops show up.
00:01:17.584 --> 00:01:21.167
Nothing worse for a neighborhood
than poor people with style!
00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:27.792
Then you know what they\'re going to do?
They\'re going to hang out at cafés,
00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:31.876
talk about making movies
and writing songs...
00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:33.792
They\'re going to make
the neighborhood really cool,
00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:37.667
then the housing value\'s going to go up,
then they\'re all going to get the push!
00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:44.209
If you can\'t keep up with
the housing market, well off you go!
00:01:45.918 --> 00:01:49.459
When faced with such stupidity...
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When faced with a system
that is so backwards and broken,
00:01:55.292 --> 00:01:57.125
and based on lies,
00:01:57.292 --> 00:02:01.042
there is something so pure
and so good about life,
00:02:01.209 --> 00:02:04.918
that it can give us
the hope to carry on.
00:02:05.042 --> 00:02:07.042
To the lips of your lover!
00:02:07.999 --> 00:02:10.542
To the simple act of kissing.
00:02:10.709 --> 00:02:15.250
May it get you through
the darkest of times.
00:02:17.042 --> 00:02:19.209
To kissing...
00:02:51.876 --> 00:02:54.292
I was actually a school teacher
for about ten years.
00:02:56.334 --> 00:02:59.250
I taught French as a second language,
00:02:59.417 --> 00:03:03.000
teaching the unteachable
to the unteachable.
00:03:04.459 --> 00:03:07.375
I taught about 10,000 classes
and I got bored.
00:03:09.918 --> 00:03:11.792
But here we got in...
00:03:17.667 --> 00:03:19.876
So I got interested in real estate.
00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.920
Started flipping properties: buying
a house, renovating it and selling it.
00:03:26.083 --> 00:03:29.125
I got the taste for real estate.
00:03:30.042 --> 00:03:32.501
Really small bathroom...
00:03:32.959 --> 00:03:36.792
What you see in Toronto right now
is a superheated market.
00:03:36.959 --> 00:03:39.959
So you\'ve got bedroom No. 2 here...
00:03:40.083 --> 00:03:42.626
And it\'s all bed.
00:03:42.792 --> 00:03:48.375
I was seeing increases
of prices of 20% in a month.
00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.918
There\'s a beautiful entertaining space.
00:03:52.042 --> 00:03:53.918
This will be very attractive to the buyers.
00:03:54.042 --> 00:03:58.083
You can see yourself out here
entertaining or having quiet time.
00:03:58.250 --> 00:04:01.918
Dinner out here,
barbecue back here.
00:04:02.042 --> 00:04:06.375
An essential part of staging:
Don\'t miss the cat!
00:04:07.626 --> 00:04:08.959
Meow!
00:04:10.042 --> 00:04:12.834
Again, I get the question as realtor...
00:04:12.999 --> 00:04:16.459
What percentage
over the list price will it sell for?
00:04:16.626 --> 00:04:19.501
And the answer is: No idea!
00:04:23.042 --> 00:04:25.417
So you\'re coming in... It\'s okay.
00:04:25.584 --> 00:04:28.459
Somebody\'s not going to go:
\"Ew, ugly pictures\".
00:04:28.626 --> 00:04:30.584
However...
00:04:31.042 --> 00:04:33.918
if you put something beautiful in...
00:04:34.042 --> 00:04:37.792
I\'ve got some traditional stuff:
You know, photography...
00:04:41.250 --> 00:04:45.417
For some reason,
I put this one in the bathrooms.
00:04:45.584 --> 00:04:48.834
It makes it beautiful
and somehow intimate.
00:04:48.999 --> 00:04:54.501
I think it contributes
to that feeling of: \"You\'re home\".
00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:16.250
My job is to go around the world
and investigate housing issues,
00:05:16.417 --> 00:05:22.125
and to see how are people faring
with respect to the right to housing.
00:05:22.292 --> 00:05:26.667
Maybe you could tell me
about needing to have a rent strike?
00:05:26.834 --> 00:05:30.501
For me personally, I have a mouse
problem and a cockroach problem.
00:05:30.667 --> 00:05:32.907
I\'ve got things that need
to be repaired in the building.
00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.918
They withhold services.
They run you around in circles.
00:05:36.042 --> 00:05:38.918
They frustrate you.
You get fed up.
00:05:39.042 --> 00:05:42.000
You just want to leave,
but where are we going to go?
00:05:42.167 --> 00:05:44.542
The rent situation
all over Toronto is the same way.
00:05:44.709 --> 00:05:47.083
It\'s eviction by another name.
00:05:47.250 --> 00:05:51.918
- Any response from MetCap?
- Harassment.
00:05:52.042 --> 00:05:56.542
Barb had a sign on her balcony
about the rent strike.
00:05:56.709 --> 00:05:59.000
And they threatened to evict her.
00:05:59.584 --> 00:06:03.000
\"I\'m giving you this notice
because I want to end your tenancy.
00:06:03.167 --> 00:06:07.083
\"I want you to move out of your rental
unit by (such & such) date.
00:06:07.250 --> 00:06:10.584
\"Reason: I believe that you,
or someone living with you,
00:06:10.751 --> 00:06:13.209
has committed an illegal act\"...
00:06:13.375 --> 00:06:16.417
- N6 is \"serious criminality\".
- Oh, my...
00:06:16.584 --> 00:06:19.999
- For illegal action.
- \"Guns and drugs\" is an N6.
00:06:20.125 --> 00:06:23.459
They came after her
with the hardest category.
00:06:23.626 --> 00:06:24.999
Pretty scary.
00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:29.250
- So this was based on the banner?
- Yeah.
00:06:31.042 --> 00:06:36.334
- We\'re not bad-mouthing them...
- It just says, \"May 1st rent strike\".
00:06:36.501 --> 00:06:40.417
They own 19 buildings in the area and
that\'s their plan for all the buildings.
00:06:40.584 --> 00:06:45.125
It\'s to get people like us out.
The neighborhood\'s getting gentrified.
00:06:45.292 --> 00:06:47.751
If you\'re familiar with Liberty Village?
00:06:47.918 --> 00:06:50.375
It\'s come right up to King & Dufferin.
00:06:50.542 --> 00:06:55.209
And it\'s only one direction
into our neighbor, and we\'re in the way.
00:07:27.792 --> 00:07:32.334
- I know, I know!
- Oh, my God! You\'re so loud.
00:07:32.501 --> 00:07:35.250
- You share it.
- We\'re splitting it.
00:07:35.417 --> 00:07:37.709
Yeah, you don\'t need to open two.
00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:40.167
- Did you shake it?
- Yes, I did.
00:07:40.334 --> 00:07:41.792
That is not half!
00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:45.167
Okay, whoever pours it,
the other person has to drink it.
00:07:45.334 --> 00:07:48.584
- No, I\'m putting some back.
- That\'s going to be a disaster...
00:07:48.751 --> 00:07:50.959
I\'m getting out of the way.
00:07:53.209 --> 00:07:55.959
You guys better go.
00:07:58.417 --> 00:08:01.542
- How\'s it going?
- Fine...
00:08:01.709 --> 00:08:05.542
- Did you go directly to the chart?
- Yeah.
00:08:06.250 --> 00:08:10.375
In the Greater Toronto area
in the last 30 years,
00:08:10.542 --> 00:08:14.334
housing prices have increased by 425%.
00:08:14.501 --> 00:08:17.292
Whereas, in a similar 30-year-period,
00:08:17.459 --> 00:08:21.876
average family income
has only grown by 133%
00:08:22.834 --> 00:08:24.000
So something else is in play,
00:08:24.167 --> 00:08:26.918
and clearly it\'s not
the economic fundamentals,
00:08:27.042 --> 00:08:28.959
as you can see by the above graph.
00:08:29.083 --> 00:08:32.584
- So, are you going to send this around?
- No. I don\'t know.
00:08:32.751 --> 00:08:38.125
I have a need to check the numbers first.
But it\'s pretty... grim.
00:08:47.626 --> 00:08:51.375
I think we are at
an incredibly urgent moment.
00:08:53.626 --> 00:08:57.792
The extent to which
we\'re seeing urbanization
00:08:57.959 --> 00:09:01.667
collide with stagnant wages
and a lack of affordability,
00:09:01.834 --> 00:09:04.292
is unprecedented.
00:09:04.459 --> 00:09:10.083
So you have poor people
really struggling now, like never before.
00:09:12.459 --> 00:09:17.959
But then you also have
the middle class unable to afford
00:09:18.083 --> 00:09:22.375
to live in cities and provide services
that are necessary for a city.
00:09:25.459 --> 00:09:29.626
I don\'t want to overuse the word crisis,
but it suggests a crisis.
00:09:29.792 --> 00:09:34.000
Then we start asking: Wait a second,
who is going to live in cities?
00:09:34.167 --> 00:09:36.584
Who are cities for?
00:09:46.667 --> 00:09:49.167
It\'s not rocket science.
00:09:50.667 --> 00:09:54.375
What do we think people need
to have a dignified life?
00:09:54.542 --> 00:09:56.334
And it\'s clear
that decent housing,
00:09:56.501 --> 00:09:59.999
affordable housing,
is one of those things.
00:10:01.042 --> 00:10:03.751
And it\'s supported by international law.
00:10:06.542 --> 00:10:08.876
A Kennedy Heights family
is just hours away
00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.709
from learning whether or not
they can stay in their home
00:10:11.876 --> 00:10:14.792
or be forced out onto the streets.
00:10:14.959 --> 00:10:18.292
The problem? Housing is gobbling up
more of shrinking paychecks.
00:10:18.459 --> 00:10:22.292
People in 59 out of 102
countries worldwide,
00:10:22.459 --> 00:10:25.667
would need to save their yearly income
for at least ten years
00:10:25.834 --> 00:10:29.584
in order to buy a house in their country.
00:10:30.459 --> 00:10:33.792
There are two histories, we might say,
00:10:33.959 --> 00:10:38.292
that intersect today
in that space that we call \"the city\".
00:10:41.501 --> 00:10:45.501
And one of them is a familiar issue,
00:10:45.667 --> 00:10:50.000
for which we have
used the term gentrification.
00:10:52.709 --> 00:10:56.459
When I hear people today
saying \"it\'s gentrification\",
00:10:56.626 --> 00:11:00.792
one, ironic, reaction is: \"if only\".
00:11:00.959 --> 00:11:04.501
It\'s much deeper than that,
it\'s much more foundational.
00:11:14.876 --> 00:11:20.334
The foundation of the house
is settling, it\'s sinking down.
00:11:20.501 --> 00:11:23.918
Everything is going down.
00:11:26.792 --> 00:11:30.125
We\'re in the home of an older woman.
00:11:31.042 --> 00:11:33.501
It\'s like she\'s living on top of the...
00:11:33.667 --> 00:11:37.375
Who is being pressured
to abandon her home
00:11:37.542 --> 00:11:42.292
because it\'s in the midst
of this big new development.
00:11:44.834 --> 00:11:47.834
Here, there was a hospital.
00:11:47.999 --> 00:11:49.375
It\'s been demolished.
00:11:49.542 --> 00:11:55.375
And it was demolished
to make way for luxury condominiums.
00:11:55.542 --> 00:11:57.792
They don\'t even own this land.
00:12:01.501 --> 00:12:06.250
I\'ve heard that there are many units
standing vacant already, luxury condos,
00:12:06.417 --> 00:12:10.959
because no one in Valparaiso
can afford to buy any of these units.
00:12:11.083 --> 00:12:17.083
So these developments are clearly not
for the people of Valparaiso.
00:12:21.584 --> 00:12:26.042
The real estate company
didn\'t ask for a permit.
00:12:26.209 --> 00:12:30.501
They call the project Parque Baron,
but they tore out all the trees.
00:12:30.667 --> 00:12:36.000
It was like the Garden of Eden:
olives, almonds, plum trees...
00:12:36.167 --> 00:12:38.209
All the kids came here to play.
00:12:38.375 --> 00:12:42.125
\"Parque Baron\"
is nothing like a park now!
00:12:47.042 --> 00:12:50.167
Well, this is what I\'m seeing
happening around the world.
00:12:50.334 --> 00:12:55.083
The buying up of land,
the displacement of the poorest people...
00:12:55.250 --> 00:12:59.667
And the putting up of luxury units
00:12:59.834 --> 00:13:02.584
that are not actually for the people
who live in the community.
00:13:07.667 --> 00:13:12.042
Because of the massive buying
of rural land...
00:13:13.334 --> 00:13:18.334
more and more people
have to leave the rural areas.
00:13:19.667 --> 00:13:22.542
They come to the cities.
00:13:22.709 --> 00:13:29.083
You can see that urban land
becomes precious land.
00:13:33.876 --> 00:13:37.125
Then that earlier gentrification story
00:13:37.292 --> 00:13:40.501
is sort of an older history.
00:13:50.999 --> 00:13:53.709
As long as you\'re well and healthy...
00:13:53.876 --> 00:13:56.250
- Thank you very much.
- Good to see you, give my regards.
00:13:56.417 --> 00:13:58.501
I was very proud to live in Notting Hill.
00:13:59.250 --> 00:14:02.083
When you go somewhere...
\"Where do you live? \" - \"Notting Hill.\"
00:14:02.250 --> 00:14:05.167
\'Cause they\'ve heard about the film...
\"Oh, yeah, Notting Hill.\"
00:14:09.125 --> 00:14:11.000
One more, chuck her up!
00:14:13.459 --> 00:14:17.417
The thing I like about this area
is the community.
00:14:19.626 --> 00:14:23.999
Your friends are
from all faiths, all colors...
00:14:26.250 --> 00:14:27.876
I\'m here!
00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:31.083
There\'s one word
for this community: family.
00:14:31.250 --> 00:14:34.417
It\'s actually a family, because
even if we don\'t know each other,
00:14:34.584 --> 00:14:36.083
we know each other by face.
00:14:36.250 --> 00:14:38.918
See me here!
00:14:40.292 --> 00:14:42.918
I was born just five minutes from here.
00:14:43.042 --> 00:14:48.667
And in the 70s, 80s, and 90s,
I\'ve seen the whole area change.
00:14:48.834 --> 00:14:53.417
Pop stars and people moving
into the area because they like the vibe.
00:14:53.584 --> 00:14:55.501
The vibe is really cool.
00:14:55.667 --> 00:14:59.417
People who\'ve seen the film, they come
over from all around the world,
00:14:59.584 --> 00:15:03.792
they want to see where the blue door is,
they want to see the bookshop...
00:15:03.959 --> 00:15:08.209
It became a very trendy place to live.
00:15:09.876 --> 00:15:13.292
And then the new school
and new leisure center,
00:15:13.459 --> 00:15:18.209
that\'s going to attract the wealthy
people to come down to the area.
00:15:18.375 --> 00:15:22.042
Then they start buying up properties...
00:15:22.209 --> 00:15:24.334
Don\'t need to live there,
00:15:24.501 --> 00:15:28.626
but, you know,
it\'s a fantastic investment for them.
00:15:29.250 --> 00:15:32.417
Better than putting it in the bank.
00:15:33.042 --> 00:15:38.999
So our fourth stop on the Highlight Tour
of London Kleptocracy properties...
00:15:39.125 --> 00:15:44.542
These two properties are worth
perhaps 20 million pounds each.
00:15:46.459 --> 00:15:50.542
I believe he paid something in the
region of 40 or 50 million pounds for it.
00:15:50.709 --> 00:15:52.999
If you could get a whole one of these,
00:15:53.125 --> 00:15:55.876
it would be 30 or 40 million pounds.
00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:58.042
Nobody lives here
and nothing is happening to this thing,
00:15:58.209 --> 00:16:01.417
so it\'s become a dead spot in London.
00:16:01.584 --> 00:16:04.334
There was news agents,
there were pubs,
00:16:04.501 --> 00:16:06.918
there were a couple of restaurants...
00:16:07.042 --> 00:16:10.751
But the community itself has evaporated.
00:16:12.834 --> 00:16:15.792
Slowly, slowly, people are forced out.
00:16:15.959 --> 00:16:19.125
They don\'t understand it\'s happening.
00:16:22.667 --> 00:16:26.083
We purchased our flat in \'94.
00:16:26.250 --> 00:16:29.918
If I sold my flat, I could not
live in Kensington Chelsea.
00:16:30.042 --> 00:16:31.792
I\'d be forced out of the area.
00:16:33.042 --> 00:16:36.667
I\'d have to actually
probably move out of London.
00:16:40.834 --> 00:16:43.167
I can stand in the middle of the street,
00:16:43.334 --> 00:16:46.918
with empty car parking spaces
all around me and no traffic coming.
00:16:47.042 --> 00:16:50.042
This place is now a dead zone.
00:16:50.209 --> 00:16:52.918
We\'ve very little indication
of who the owners are.
00:16:53.042 --> 00:16:56.626
And a lot of them are completely empty.
You can\'t go and ask them who they are,
00:16:56.792 --> 00:16:58.959
they\'re actually just empty all the time.
00:17:25.292 --> 00:17:30.083
I think this place
has been empty since 2003.
00:17:30.250 --> 00:17:34.042
Something like that, it\'s the last time
anybody actually operated in it.
00:17:34.209 --> 00:17:37.417
Lots of empty buildings about
and lots of homeless about,
00:17:37.584 --> 00:17:39.959
so it just makes sense.
00:17:40.083 --> 00:17:42.042
Who bought this place? Do you know?
00:17:42.209 --> 00:17:44.792
A Mr. Qatari, apparently.
00:17:44.959 --> 00:17:50.125
Apparently he\'s
an ex-army general from Qatar.
00:17:50.292 --> 00:17:54.209
- Do you know how much he paid?
- 25 million pounds.
00:17:55.334 --> 00:17:57.709
Ludicrous.
00:17:57.876 --> 00:18:01.292
How many homeless people are there?
How many empty buildings?
00:18:01.459 --> 00:18:02.999
It\'s just...
00:18:03.125 --> 00:18:06.792
Do you have a demand as a group?
Are you guys organized at all?
00:18:06.959 --> 00:18:09.375
Yeah, just to start
housing people, basically,
00:18:09.542 --> 00:18:12.542
or we\'ll keep squatting
these multi-million pound buildings
00:18:12.709 --> 00:18:14.334
until something is sorted.
00:18:14.501 --> 00:18:17.334
\"Occupy Belgravia\"...
00:18:17.501 --> 00:18:19.667
We will keep getting these places
00:18:19.834 --> 00:18:22.250
and we will keep doing it
until something is sorted out.
00:18:22.417 --> 00:18:27.292
Who else is going to help?
Someone\'s got to do it.
00:18:31.042 --> 00:18:35.292
One way of putting it is:
This is not at all about housing.
00:18:39.501 --> 00:18:43.250
The buildings, they function as assets.
00:18:47.042 --> 00:18:50.042
You want those houses
to be empty and unused.
00:18:51.459 --> 00:18:54.334
Because then you can play with them.
00:19:00.459 --> 00:19:06.292
Can you imagine?
These dark empty buildings...
00:19:06.459 --> 00:19:09.292
They are making money.
So when people think:
00:19:09.459 --> 00:19:11.417
\"Oh, poor investors!\"
something went wrong...
00:19:11.584 --> 00:19:12.584
Hell no!
00:19:26.375 --> 00:19:29.792
Cellphone, badge...
00:19:31.667 --> 00:19:36.542
My first reaction to learning about this
phenomenon of vacant dwellings,
00:19:36.709 --> 00:19:40.501
I was pretty outraged.
I remain outraged.
00:19:43.042 --> 00:19:45.242
In a humans-rights framework,
and through the UN system,
00:19:45.375 --> 00:19:48.334
it\'s very clear
who is accountable: States.
00:19:50.876 --> 00:19:53.584
States are responsible. They have
international human rights obligations,
00:19:53.751 --> 00:19:56.042
they sign treaties
and they make commitments
00:19:56.209 --> 00:19:58.042
to the international community
00:19:58.209 --> 00:20:01.167
that they will
uphold international human rights,
00:20:01.334 --> 00:20:04.959
which include
the right to adequate housing.
00:20:21.959 --> 00:20:25.292
- That\'s a real...
- Oh, shit!
00:20:27.667 --> 00:20:30.292
Somebody banged hard on my door.
00:20:31.667 --> 00:20:35.626
Then I opened the front door and
there\'s just a blanket of black smoke.
00:20:35.792 --> 00:20:39.584
So I closed the door
very calmly thinking:
00:20:39.751 --> 00:20:41.042
Oh, there\'s a fire.
00:20:41.834 --> 00:20:44.999
- The Tower\'s on fire...
- How is that possible?
00:20:45.125 --> 00:20:48.000
It\'s jumped up
all the way along the face of...
00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:53.459
How the fuck is that even possible?!
00:20:56.417 --> 00:21:01.250
And that was the beginning of the fire,
we were still in there for 2.5 hours.
00:21:01.667 --> 00:21:03.751
That\'s the beginning...
That\'s...
00:21:10.042 --> 00:21:12.334
So, I came to the balcony...
00:21:12.501 --> 00:21:16.417
I ran to the back of the estate.
I thought \"what the hell\'s going on?\"
00:21:16.584 --> 00:21:20.999
I saw everything, from start to finish.
00:21:21.125 --> 00:21:24.334
I never slept for two days straight.
00:21:30.417 --> 00:21:34.626
When I heard about it, I was in Canada.
00:21:34.792 --> 00:21:37.751
Watching it unfold through Twitter and...
00:21:37.918 --> 00:21:40.834
Then I started getting these details.
00:21:42.042 --> 00:21:44.999
Social housing estate...
00:21:45.125 --> 00:21:48.584
A marginalized community...
00:21:48.751 --> 00:21:52.125
set in a very rich, affluent, borough.
00:21:53.042 --> 00:21:58.751
Allegations of poor housing conditions
from before the fire.
00:22:03.042 --> 00:22:06.459
Then I see an arm,
up to about here,
00:22:06.626 --> 00:22:09.792
come through the smoke
and grab my wife.
00:22:09.959 --> 00:22:14.209
Then another arm, on the other side,
comes to grab me.
00:22:14.375 --> 00:22:17.584
I said: \"How about my dog?\"
00:22:17.751 --> 00:22:21.209
The officer said: \"No, sorry,
we\'re going to have to go.\"
00:22:21.375 --> 00:22:24.542
So I just looked at my dog...
00:22:24.709 --> 00:22:29.709
An amazing...
My dog\'s like my child,
00:22:29.876 --> 00:22:34.334
He\'s a two-year-old beagle
called Lewis Hamilton II.
00:22:34.501 --> 00:22:38.709
He chose his own name,
we gave him options and he liked Lewis.
00:22:38.876 --> 00:22:41.000
So he was, yeah...
00:22:45.042 --> 00:22:48.250
And then we were
off into the darkness.
00:22:50.459 --> 00:22:53.167
Then I\'m going down
and I\'m treading on things.
00:22:53.334 --> 00:22:57.667
They must have the water pipes
already in the stairwell,
00:22:57.834 --> 00:23:00.250
but then realization:
\"No, I think it\'s people.\"
00:23:00.417 --> 00:23:03.751
I\'m treading on... bodies.
00:23:03.918 --> 00:23:07.709
I\'m treading on something in my way.
00:23:16.459 --> 00:23:21.042
I was actually quite happy when they
put on cladding to make it pretty.
00:23:22.459 --> 00:23:25.501
To make it look nice
for the surrounding area.
00:23:27.542 --> 00:23:31.375
And somebody knew
that they\'d do it on the cheap.
00:23:42.709 --> 00:23:47.042
There were these elements that seemed
to be a bit of a global phenomenon.
00:23:47.209 --> 00:23:50.751
Where you have
a vulnerable community.
00:23:50.918 --> 00:23:54.125
Most of the people in Grenfell
are working, but they are \"working poor\".
00:23:54.292 --> 00:23:59.125
Literally living side-by-side
with incredibly wealthy people,
00:23:59.292 --> 00:24:02.417
and an incredible amount of wealth.
00:24:02.584 --> 00:24:04.918
The tension between the two...
00:24:05.042 --> 00:24:08.876
And then watching this fire,
it was like...
00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:13.959
a physical representation
of the displacement of a community.
00:24:14.083 --> 00:24:17.501
For me, that\'s the narrative
of the world right now.
00:24:21.209 --> 00:24:24.125
I heard one of the councilors say:
00:24:24.292 --> 00:24:27.042
\"If you can\'t live in Notting Hill,
then you shouldn\'t be in Notting Hill.\"
00:24:27.209 --> 00:24:29.751
What\'s all that about?
Who the fuck is he to say that?
00:24:29.918 --> 00:24:31.083
Do you get where I\'m coming from?
00:24:31.250 --> 00:24:34.042
So, people who have
lived there all their lives
00:24:34.209 --> 00:24:38.834
are just being treated like a piece
of shit, and it\'s wrong, isn\'t it?
00:24:38.999 --> 00:24:42.250
It makes me sick, talking about it.
It brings tears to my eyes.
00:24:42.417 --> 00:24:44.457
You can\'t just disregard them,
like they\'re rubbish.
00:24:44.584 --> 00:24:46.918
Like in that fire - they just burnt them.
00:24:47.042 --> 00:24:51.584
It\'s like... You know...
This is the richest town in the borough!
00:24:51.751 --> 00:24:53.626
How can that happen? How?
00:25:04.959 --> 00:25:09.417
Yeah, I\'ve written lyrics.
Me and my cousin made a song for it.
00:25:09.584 --> 00:25:12.375
Rest in peace
to the fallen from Grenfell
00:25:12.542 --> 00:25:14.709
My heart\'s with all of their families
00:25:14.876 --> 00:25:17.417
We have to stay strong for Grenfell
00:25:17.584 --> 00:25:19.542
We can\'t fall apart from this tragedy
00:25:19.667 --> 00:25:22.250
That community is special to me.
00:25:22.417 --> 00:25:24.709
This is where I\'ve grown up.
00:25:25.959 --> 00:25:28.042
But people will be forced out
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:31.209
They try and push us out
00:25:31.375 --> 00:25:33.918
The community is strong
We put our foot down
00:25:34.042 --> 00:25:36.042
We stand together
our voice sings loud...
00:25:37.042 --> 00:25:40.999
I\'ll guarantee you I\'ll stay here,
I\'ll fight with everything I\'ve got.
00:25:41.125 --> 00:25:43.209
And I\'ll fight for the other people
00:25:43.999 --> 00:25:46.292
Rest in peace
to the fallen from Grenfell
00:25:46.459 --> 00:25:48.501
My heart\'s with all of their families
00:25:48.667 --> 00:25:51.125
We have to stay strong for Grenfell
00:25:51.292 --> 00:25:54.918
We can\'t fall apart from this tragedy...
00:25:57.667 --> 00:26:00.334
- You have human rights obligations.
- I agree...
00:26:00.501 --> 00:26:05.918
You can\'t let these investors
and the financial system
00:26:06.042 --> 00:26:08.792
run amok on its own
00:26:08.959 --> 00:26:09.999
I say: \"wow, human rights...\"
00:26:10.125 --> 00:26:13.709
Every single person
has a bunch of rights.
00:26:13.876 --> 00:26:16.334
Then I have a question for you.
00:26:16.501 --> 00:26:19.083
Are you a legal scholar on human rights?
00:26:19.250 --> 00:26:20.876
That\'s right.
00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:24.792
You have the instrumentality
that is the law?
00:26:24.959 --> 00:26:29.959
Because what I see, those with power,
boy, can they deploy the law
00:26:30.083 --> 00:26:32.083
in ways that work for them.
00:26:32.250 --> 00:26:35.334
Stuff is happening, you know?
00:26:48.375 --> 00:26:51.834
Prices go up in a neighborhood
that is fixed, that\'s one thing.
00:26:51.999 --> 00:26:54.667
Everybody understands that part.
00:26:54.834 --> 00:26:57.626
Then we should understand that at point,
00:26:57.792 --> 00:27:01.125
another actor
might come into the picture,
00:27:01.292 --> 00:27:05.999
a monster that nobody can see
00:27:06.125 --> 00:27:09.375
that nobody really understands.
00:27:10.667 --> 00:27:14.125
Whose language is incomprehensible.
00:27:15.042 --> 00:27:19.167
And then they can maybe be curious,
00:27:19.334 --> 00:27:22.959
and say:
\"let me check out that monster.\"
00:27:23.083 --> 00:27:27.501
\"Who is this monster?
What is happening here?\"
00:27:35.250 --> 00:27:39.918
I don\'t believe that capitalism itself
is hugely problematic.
00:27:41.459 --> 00:27:45.209
Is unbridled capitalism in an area
00:27:45.375 --> 00:27:49.334
that is a human right
problematic? Yes.
00:27:49.501 --> 00:27:53.918
And I think that\'s what differentiates
housing as a commodity,
00:27:54.042 --> 00:27:55.959
from gold as a commodity.
00:27:56.083 --> 00:27:58.999
Gold is not a human right,
housing is.
00:28:10.375 --> 00:28:14.834
This building,
this whole complex, has 1,700.
00:28:14.999 --> 00:28:16.501
1,700 units.
00:28:22.459 --> 00:28:25.250
The previous landlords,
I think, were C&C.
00:28:25.417 --> 00:28:27.959
I think they did
put the information up to let us know
00:28:28.083 --> 00:28:30.542
that the complex was going to be sold.
00:28:30.709 --> 00:28:33.709
This is before Fairfield came in.
00:28:33.876 --> 00:28:35.999
Who is Fairfield?
I don\'t know who they are.
00:28:36.125 --> 00:28:40.083
What I\'m told,
Fairfield is a subsidiary of...
00:28:40.250 --> 00:28:43.876
- Is it Blackstone?
- Right, the private equity firm.
00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:49.959
Exactly. They want to raise
the rent up to 900 dollars each.
00:28:50.083 --> 00:28:52.501
- By 900 dollars each?
- By 900 dollars.
00:28:52.667 --> 00:28:56.167
- Are you going to be able to pay that?
- I don\'t know.
00:28:56.334 --> 00:28:59.042
I can definitely say that next year,
there\'s no way.
00:28:59.209 --> 00:29:01.918
And where I\'m going to go,
I don\'t have a clue.
00:29:02.042 --> 00:29:04.751
Right... Do you mind me asking?
00:29:04.918 --> 00:29:07.167
- Are you employed?
- Yes, I am.
00:29:07.334 --> 00:29:11.209
So what percentage of your income
would this be, 2584?
00:29:11.375 --> 00:29:12.751
90%
00:29:12.918 --> 00:29:18.042
About 90, I\'d say...
That\'s right. 90%
00:29:18.209 --> 00:29:21.709
- Do you consider that affordable?
- No, it\'s not.
00:29:21.876 --> 00:29:25.167
If it goes to 3,400...
00:29:25.334 --> 00:29:28.375
Then I\'d have to be making six figures,
00:29:28.542 --> 00:29:31.292
I\'d have to be making
100,000 dollars a year.
00:29:31.459 --> 00:29:34.167
There\'s days I\'m optimistic.
00:29:34.334 --> 00:29:36.292
But then...
00:29:36.459 --> 00:29:39.209
There are some days I\'m more...
00:29:49.334 --> 00:29:52.751
I think Human Rights Law
hasn\'t caught up.
00:29:53.667 --> 00:29:57.918
And it worries me that I haven\'t
quite yet found the language...
00:30:00.083 --> 00:30:02.250
People are coming to me
more and more,
00:30:02.417 --> 00:30:04.501
and wanting me to talk about it,
00:30:04.667 --> 00:30:08.792
but how do we describe it in a way
that will make sense,
00:30:08.959 --> 00:30:11.292
resonate, and really get at that issue?
00:30:11.459 --> 00:30:16.083
I\'m still... I\'m looking for that.
I feel a bit desperate.
00:30:16.250 --> 00:30:21.792
So maybe I need to keep talking
to the people in the financial field.
00:30:34.667 --> 00:30:38.334
The first sign
I noticed when I came here
00:30:38.501 --> 00:30:43.584
was these very limited opening hours.
00:30:43.751 --> 00:30:46.751
They show their tenants
they are willing to meet them,
00:30:46.918 --> 00:30:51.334
but this is three hours per week,
on Tuesdays.
00:30:51.501 --> 00:30:57.459
D. Carnegie is the Swedish arm
of the Blackstone company.
00:31:00.709 --> 00:31:05.250
So many signs
that they don\'t bother much here.
00:31:07.250 --> 00:31:13.751
But it\'s a typical example of the type
of estates they are interested in.
00:31:13.918 --> 00:31:19.667
So every time an apartment is vacant,
they start this renovation,
00:31:19.834 --> 00:31:24.584
whereby they can increase
the rents with roughly 50%.
00:31:26.042 --> 00:31:31.542
But these increased rents have no
connection at all to the actual costs.
00:31:31.709 --> 00:31:35.667
While this is very profitable for them.
00:31:36.667 --> 00:31:40.459
They don\'t really want
to tie up all their money
00:31:40.626 --> 00:31:44.667
into those houses.
00:31:44.834 --> 00:31:47.334
So what they do is
00:31:47.501 --> 00:31:52.751
look for a large number of investors.
00:31:52.918 --> 00:31:56.292
And they create a security
00:31:56.459 --> 00:32:01.167
that says we own these 10,000 homes.
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:09.042
And you, as the investor,
will get the rents
00:32:09.209 --> 00:32:13.959
and any capital gains
on those properties.
00:32:15.125 --> 00:32:20.542
And if you buy 1% of the security,
you get 1% of that flow.
00:32:22.250 --> 00:32:27.417
That means Blackstone doesn\'t
have its own money at risk
00:32:27.584 --> 00:32:31.876
to the same extent
that it otherwise would be.
00:32:37.667 --> 00:32:40.999
The house you can buy-sell, buy-sell...
00:32:41.125 --> 00:32:44.209
The asset built on that house,
00:32:44.375 --> 00:32:47.918
you can sell it in less than a second.
00:32:48.042 --> 00:32:51.999
You can sell it 35 times in an hour
00:32:52.125 --> 00:32:54.999
if you\'re dealing
with high-frequency trading.
00:32:56.667 --> 00:32:59.999
There is a total disconnect
00:33:00.125 --> 00:33:03.667
between the person living in the home,
00:33:03.834 --> 00:33:06.999
and the person owning the home.
00:33:07.125 --> 00:33:12.959
Owning the house is only
a means to making money.
00:33:14.959 --> 00:33:20.459
- How long have you been living here?
- I\'ve been living here for 32 years.
00:33:20.626 --> 00:33:26.083
I\'m a \"working-class hero\",
as I call myself...
00:33:26.250 --> 00:33:28.834
For fun, of course.
00:33:28.999 --> 00:33:33.125
I work with handicapped people.
And I work night shifts.
00:33:33.292 --> 00:33:35.999
If it became such
that your rent was increased...
00:33:36.125 --> 00:33:38.999
- would you be able to live here?
- It would be very difficult.
00:33:39.125 --> 00:33:44.959
Especially when you are a single parent.
Maybe I could work more, but I think...
00:33:45.083 --> 00:33:50.042
For me it will be difficult,
because I\'m tired as it is.
00:33:50.209 --> 00:33:53.167
They did it \"over our heads\",
as we say in Swedish,
00:33:53.334 --> 00:33:56.918
so \"behind our backs\"?
00:33:57.042 --> 00:33:59.876
And they didn\'t inform us very much.
00:34:14.250 --> 00:34:18.709
Finance is very different from the bank.
00:34:18.876 --> 00:34:20.959
We all need banks, that\'s fine.
00:34:21.083 --> 00:34:25.209
It sells something, we pay money
for that. Finance is totally different.
00:34:25.375 --> 00:34:28.959
I always say that finance
sells something it does not have.
00:34:31.042 --> 00:34:34.959
And in doing that,
it needs to invent brilliant instruments
00:34:35.083 --> 00:34:38.584
that allow it to invade other sectors.
00:34:38.751 --> 00:34:43.209
And that means that finance
is basically an extractive sector.
00:34:43.375 --> 00:34:45.417
It might as well be mining.
00:34:45.584 --> 00:34:50.834
The difference between finance
as mining, and the traditional bank,
00:34:50.999 --> 00:34:55.459
is that the bank wants the sons
and daughters of its current clients
00:34:55.626 --> 00:34:58.751
to do better, because it\'s commerce.
00:34:58.918 --> 00:35:00.999
Finance is like mining,
00:35:01.125 --> 00:35:05.667
once it has extracted what it needs,
it doesn\'t care what happens to the rest.
00:35:22.999 --> 00:35:28.209
I\'m not sure how much description
you\'ve had about the Swedish system.
00:35:28.375 --> 00:35:29.834
Not much.
00:35:32.167 --> 00:35:33.834
- This is the room.
- Thank you.
00:35:33.999 --> 00:35:37.209
People are really proud, it\'s amazing.
00:35:37.375 --> 00:35:41.042
Really proud of the very particular
Swedish housing system.
00:35:41.209 --> 00:35:43.792
I can see why,
as I\'m learning more,
00:35:43.959 --> 00:35:45.751
it\'s a unique system
00:35:45.918 --> 00:35:47.918
and it\'s very protective of the people
00:35:48.042 --> 00:35:52.125
So to bring an outsider in...
And they\'re known as,
00:35:52.292 --> 00:35:55.167
excuse the expression,
but \"vultures\", to some degree...
00:35:55.334 --> 00:35:59.334
To bring them in - I\'m surprised
00:35:59.501 --> 00:36:04.083
that Stockholm,
or Sweden, would do that!
00:36:04.250 --> 00:36:08.209
You have such a special system,
I\'d think you\'d want to protect it.
00:36:09.167 --> 00:36:11.584
And to me, if you look
at the situation, that is done.
00:36:11.751 --> 00:36:16.042
It\'s not realistic...
00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:19.417
to change the situation
and to buy them back,
00:36:19.584 --> 00:36:24.083
I think that\'s impossible.
To me, if you compare it with the tools...
00:36:24.250 --> 00:36:27.334
Maybe that\'s a political issue,
but it\'s already done.
00:36:35.792 --> 00:36:40.667
When you look at the political classes
which I hold responsible in part,
00:36:40.834 --> 00:36:45.999
for a lot of the extremes we\'ve reached
in terms of extracting value,
00:36:46.125 --> 00:36:48.334
so that all our governments now
00:36:48.501 --> 00:36:53.834
are poorer than they were in the 1980s,
when this sort of begins.
00:36:55.459 --> 00:37:01.834
The value of all real estate
that functions as an asset,
00:37:01.999 --> 00:37:06.751
is 217 trillion dollars.
00:37:07.542 --> 00:37:10.334
That\'s more than the global GDP
00:37:10.501 --> 00:37:14.375
of all the countries in the world,
of all the economies in the world.
00:37:14.542 --> 00:37:17.501
So you know that you\'re
dealing with something
00:37:17.667 --> 00:37:23.000
that exits the domain
of what we would call money.
00:37:29.042 --> 00:37:32.918
They are highly camouflaged extractions,
00:37:33.042 --> 00:37:37.667
because they come in the shape
of extraordinarily complex instruments
00:37:37.834 --> 00:37:40.959
that nobody who is not
in that business can understand.
00:37:41.083 --> 00:37:45.417
The political classes,
instead of doing their homework,
00:37:45.584 --> 00:37:47.792
and saying
\"We\'ve left traditional banking,
00:37:47.959 --> 00:37:50.501
we could all understand that,\"
something else has happened.
00:37:50.667 --> 00:37:54.334
It\'s so complex
that we delegate to the experts.
00:37:54.501 --> 00:37:59.292
Who are the experts?
The financial sector itself.
00:38:10.501 --> 00:38:15.584
Goodbye...
I\'ll see you and Ryan after school.
00:38:17.334 --> 00:38:19.125
Come on, Bean.
00:38:19.292 --> 00:38:21.709
Come on, come on...
00:38:30.876 --> 00:38:34.000
We\'re the largest real-estate
private equity firm in the world.
00:38:34.167 --> 00:38:37.667
We\'ve got investments
in people around the globe,
00:38:37.834 --> 00:38:40.375
but by keeping
our business entrepreneurial,
00:38:40.542 --> 00:38:42.083
we can move very, very quickly.
00:38:45.667 --> 00:38:49.999
Jon Gray is the Global Head
of Real Estate for Blackstone Group,
00:38:50.125 --> 00:38:53.792
which is the world\'s largest
private equity manager.
00:38:53.959 --> 00:38:58.626
So, one of the markets you went into
was single-family homes,
00:38:58.792 --> 00:39:00.000
and you have a big portfolio.
00:39:00.167 --> 00:39:01.834
- Was it 50, 000?
- Yes.
00:39:01.999 --> 00:39:03.959
- 50,000.
- Tell us about that.
00:39:04.083 --> 00:39:06.250
So, how do you even
find 50,000 homes to buy?
00:39:06.417 --> 00:39:11.042
You need a global financial crisis
for that to occur.
00:39:11.209 --> 00:39:13.751
You\'re sitting around in 2011,
00:39:13.918 --> 00:39:16.375
saying \"where is there
a large pool of assets
00:39:16.542 --> 00:39:20.000
\"that are going to be sold
by financial institutions
00:39:20.167 --> 00:39:23.250
\"at big discounts to underlying
replacement costs?\"
00:39:23.417 --> 00:39:26.292
And it was pretty obvious
it was single-family homes.
00:39:26.459 --> 00:39:29.375
Let\'s spend 25,000 or so fixing them up,
00:39:29.542 --> 00:39:31.000
and then let\'s rent them out
00:39:31.167 --> 00:39:33.334
and make income-producing
assets out of them
00:39:33.501 --> 00:39:36.125
like an apartment business,
but just not in one large complex.
00:39:36.292 --> 00:39:38.876
But if we do it in enough scale...
00:39:42.250 --> 00:39:44.667
I was just poking around,
00:39:44.834 --> 00:39:48.709
trying to get my head around
some of the stuff around hedge funds
00:39:48.876 --> 00:39:52.250
and buying up
distressed mortgages and all of that,
00:39:52.417 --> 00:39:56.375
and I went onto the Blackstone website...
00:39:56.542 --> 00:39:59.501
I\'ve worked with Bruce
for more than 20 years,
00:39:59.667 --> 00:40:03.959
He\'s an advocate, and thinks
so differently than anyone I know.
00:40:04.083 --> 00:40:07.709
Basically buy up the neighborhood,
gentrify the whole thing,
00:40:07.876 --> 00:40:10.667
and double or triple
the value of the real estate,
00:40:10.834 --> 00:40:14.999
just because you\'ve gentrified the
neighborhood and forced everyone out.
00:40:15.125 --> 00:40:17.751
And makes no mention of people, really.
00:40:17.918 --> 00:40:21.125
By minute 16.5,
00:40:21.292 --> 00:40:25.042
he hasn\'t mentioned the people
who would be living in those places.
00:40:25.209 --> 00:40:28.125
It\'s like a whole other world,
I definitely want to meet with him.
00:40:29.626 --> 00:40:33.918
We own properties around the globe.
We buy these investments on behalf...
00:40:34.042 --> 00:40:38.250
A company like Blackstone,
or any of the big financial enterprises,
00:40:38.417 --> 00:40:42.501
were the big winners in the crisis.
00:40:42.667 --> 00:40:45.999
They were the big winners
in the housing market.
00:40:46.125 --> 00:40:49.999
They were also the big winners
in the equity markets.
00:40:50.125 --> 00:40:54.834
It was as if the US government,
rather than helping the homeowners
00:40:54.999 --> 00:40:57.876
who were losing their homes,
00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:02.876
actually sided with the banks.
00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:06.250
Encouraged foreclosures
to clean up the books,
00:41:06.417 --> 00:41:10.751
gave the money to the hedge funds
and private equity firms,
00:41:10.918 --> 00:41:15.417
who then bought
the distressed assets to make money.
00:41:15.584 --> 00:41:19.626
So it is the way that the 2008 crisis
00:41:19.792 --> 00:41:23.834
has played an important role
in increasing wealth inequality
00:41:23.999 --> 00:41:27.375
in the US and in other countries
that have been afflicted by the crisis.
00:41:37.042 --> 00:41:39.959
It doesn\'t totally work as a statement yet.
00:41:40.083 --> 00:41:42.283
\"Let me give you a snapshot
of the new world of housing,
00:41:42.334 --> 00:41:45.292
\"and while I do so, I urge you
to reflect on the images behind me.\"
00:41:45.459 --> 00:41:46.751
- Just like that?
- Yeah.
00:41:46.918 --> 00:41:49.626
I can\'t remember how
we did it with the homelessness report,
00:41:49.792 --> 00:41:53.918
but I remember when I was
reading my statement, I did have that:
00:41:54.042 --> 00:41:57.125
\"If a pin dropped, we would
have heard it in the room.\"
00:41:57.292 --> 00:42:00.584
And that\'s what I need, because half
the time they\'re on their Blackberries,
00:42:00.751 --> 00:42:04.709
not paying attention.
Their iPhones, I suppose, now.
00:42:04.876 --> 00:42:07.000
Homelessness is
a bit different too, you know.
00:42:07.167 --> 00:42:10.250
We were seeing images of people
and part of the problem then
00:42:10.417 --> 00:42:12.792
is describing the stuff
that\'s supposed to be shocking...
00:42:12.959 --> 00:42:16.834
And it\'s all cranes, buildings
and glass and stuff.
00:42:16.999 --> 00:42:20.125
So you\'re not moved in the same way.
00:42:21.792 --> 00:42:25.209
\"Distinguished delegates,
we are living in a new world,
00:42:25.375 --> 00:42:29.167
\"a world in which the housing sector
has been transformed
00:42:29.334 --> 00:42:31.667
\"by global corporate financial actors,
00:42:31.834 --> 00:42:35.334
\"and massive amounts
of excess global capital.\"
00:42:36.667 --> 00:42:43.542
Global residential real estate
is now valued at 163 trillion dollars.
00:42:43.709 --> 00:42:49.584
More than twice the world\'s total GDP.
00:42:49.751 --> 00:42:53.000
Housing has been financialized.
00:42:53.167 --> 00:42:58.042
Valued as a commodity
rather than a human dwelling.
00:42:58.209 --> 00:43:01.792
What I am suggesting
is a significant change
00:43:01.959 --> 00:43:05.542
away from
the commodification of housing,
00:43:05.709 --> 00:43:08.751
in order to retrieve what housing means
00:43:08.918 --> 00:43:11.959
in terms of human dignity and security.
00:43:12.083 --> 00:43:17.000
As a lived experience.
As a human right. Thank you.
00:43:26.250 --> 00:43:31.334
Well, we\'re walking
through the new estate,
00:43:31.501 --> 00:43:33.209
which is now called Elephant Park,
00:43:33.375 --> 00:43:37.876
which replaces the Heygate Estate,
where I used to live.
00:43:46.042 --> 00:43:48.375
A bit of an empty feeling....
00:43:48.542 --> 00:43:51.667
Look, so many of them,
all of them are empty.
00:43:51.834 --> 00:43:54.584
The flats, many of the homes
in this part of the development
00:43:54.751 --> 00:43:57.667
were sold in Hong Kong and Singapore.
When they\'re sold overseas,
00:43:57.834 --> 00:43:59.626
they\'re not necessarily
sold for people to live in,
00:43:59.792 --> 00:44:01.667
they\'re sold as investments.
00:44:05.626 --> 00:44:08.459
Welcome to my nightmare.
00:44:08.626 --> 00:44:12.876
This is... \"Cell block one\".
00:44:14.999 --> 00:44:16.959
This is my place.
00:44:17.083 --> 00:44:21.000
We\'ve had no heat all through April.
No hot water all through April.
00:44:21.167 --> 00:44:24.918
There\'s water leaking
underneath the sink. It\'s just...
00:44:25.792 --> 00:44:31.000
I need a whole new window.
The windows don\'t match.
00:44:31.667 --> 00:44:34.000
The new owners have taken over.
We haven\'t met them,
00:44:34.167 --> 00:44:37.000
we haven\'t seen them,
we don\'t know anything about them.
00:44:37.167 --> 00:44:40.626
It could be Frosty the Snowman,
for all I know.
00:44:41.459 --> 00:44:44.375
And now
they\'re trying everything to evict us.
00:44:47.709 --> 00:44:50.334
A lawyer came.
00:44:50.501 --> 00:44:53.626
They said: \"Your contract is no good.\"
00:44:56.459 --> 00:45:01.083
By 2017, everyone was gone.
All the families...
00:45:01.250 --> 00:45:05.292
Finally, only my family was living here.
00:45:06.417 --> 00:45:08.501
Come on out...
00:45:08.667 --> 00:45:11.918
I\'ll show you the cameras.
00:45:12.042 --> 00:45:14.792
We\'ve got one here in the back.
00:45:14.959 --> 00:45:19.167
If you come out here, and look up
to your top right-hand shoulder,
00:45:19.334 --> 00:45:21.959
up in the corner,
you\'ll see another camera.
00:45:22.083 --> 00:45:24.083
And down here, on the porch,
00:45:24.250 --> 00:45:28.417
we have the other camera,
right behind you.
00:45:28.584 --> 00:45:30.918
What is this, a fucking prison?
00:45:31.042 --> 00:45:34.000
I\'ve never...
00:45:34.167 --> 00:45:36.000
had to live like this.
00:45:36.167 --> 00:45:37.999
I just don\'t know what to do anymore.
00:45:38.125 --> 00:45:40.250
Without this,
00:45:40.417 --> 00:45:43.042
I\'ll be out on the street
with the heavens pissing on me.
00:45:45.042 --> 00:45:46.834
One person, one family cried a lot.
00:45:46.999 --> 00:45:50.959
Why? He had lived here for 20 years.
00:45:54.999 --> 00:45:59.083
I wouldn\'t like to romanticize
what it was like before...
00:45:59.250 --> 00:46:03.834
It was an ordinary council estate,
lots of ordinary families in it.
00:46:03.999 --> 00:46:08.584
I suppose at this time of day, most
of them would have been off to work.
00:46:08.751 --> 00:46:12.918
Off to school
and off to college, and so on.
00:46:23.501 --> 00:46:26.292
This is where I grew up.
00:46:26.459 --> 00:46:31.042
I\'ll be hell-bent and bound
if I\'m going to be pushed out of here.
00:46:31.209 --> 00:46:34.584
- Or bullied out of here, for that matter.
- Bye, Phil!
00:46:34.751 --> 00:46:37.501
- Bye.
- Bye, sweetheart.
00:46:37.667 --> 00:46:39.209
By, boo...
00:46:39.375 --> 00:46:43.167
- You be a good girl.
- Okay.
00:46:43.334 --> 00:46:45.459
Have fun.
00:46:45.626 --> 00:46:48.792
- I\'ll see you, Sam.
- Okay, see you, guys...
00:46:48.959 --> 00:46:51.959
Bye, Danielle.
00:46:56.000 --> 00:46:58.918
We\'re dealing with...
It\'s a very particular period.
00:46:59.042 --> 00:47:05.250
The elite feel free to violate basic laws.
And then they\'re surprised
00:47:05.417 --> 00:47:11.000
that there is bitterness
among the working classes
00:47:11.167 --> 00:47:14.918
that have lost incredible ground,
a lot of ground, in our society.
00:47:15.042 --> 00:47:16.918
So, it\'s a tough moment.
00:47:17.042 --> 00:47:19.000
And following the money
00:47:19.167 --> 00:47:23.584
brings up a lot
of very substantive reasons
00:47:23.751 --> 00:47:27.125
as to why people are so angry.
00:47:27.292 --> 00:47:30.250
They don\'t know exactly,
they don\'t have the knowledge,
00:47:30.417 --> 00:47:33.000
but they know
that something is not right.
00:47:33.167 --> 00:47:37.042
My work was concerned about
asymmetries of information,
00:47:37.209 --> 00:47:39.667
the fact that some people
know things that other people don\'t,
00:47:39.834 --> 00:47:42.375
and that gives some people the ability
00:47:42.542 --> 00:47:45.250
to take advantage of others.
00:47:45.417 --> 00:47:48.167
You can make more money,
00:47:48.334 --> 00:47:50.834
not by making a better product
00:47:50.999 --> 00:47:55.125
and lowering cost of production,
which is the standard economic analysis,
00:47:55.292 --> 00:47:59.334
but by fishing for fools...
00:47:59.501 --> 00:48:02.834
Looking for people
you can take advantage of.
00:48:04.292 --> 00:48:09.501
They\'re not creating wealth,
they\'re actually just taking wealth.
00:48:10.042 --> 00:48:13.459
If you\'re somebody
like the head of Blackstone...
00:48:13.626 --> 00:48:18.999
I\'ve heard them talk about
the big advantages of deregulation.
00:48:21.042 --> 00:48:23.709
Of course he wants to be able to exploit
00:48:23.876 --> 00:48:28.209
the people who are living
in his properties.
00:48:43.042 --> 00:48:45.959
You know, preparing for
a meeting with Blackstone,
00:48:46.083 --> 00:48:49.584
what questions would you have
the Special Rapporteur ask?
00:48:49.751 --> 00:48:52.042
Blackstone,
depending on who I meet there.
00:48:52.209 --> 00:48:55.542
Because they\'re cash-rich,
00:48:55.709 --> 00:48:59.000
they\'re not a conventional landlord.
00:48:59.459 --> 00:49:04.542
They\'re completely speculating
on this future that they\'re creating.
00:49:04.709 --> 00:49:07.876
When you\'re a company
on the size and scale of Blackstone,
00:49:08.000 --> 00:49:09.334
you can buy a whole neighborhood.
00:49:09.501 --> 00:49:12.709
The power dynamic
is dramatically different.
00:49:12.876 --> 00:49:16.751
It\'s not just the power that comes
with the ability of having the cash
00:49:16.918 --> 00:49:21.083
to buy large swathes of land at once,
it\'s also political power.
00:49:21.250 --> 00:49:26.918
Yeah, that piece is very important to me,
because I hold states accountable.
00:49:27.042 --> 00:49:31.501
I need to be able to hold
the government of the US accountable,
00:49:31.667 --> 00:49:35.584
who can then hold Blackstone
and other private equity companies
00:49:35.751 --> 00:49:37.334
accountable to that whole model.
00:49:47.792 --> 00:49:51.375
In my family,
my immediate nuclear family,
00:49:51.542 --> 00:49:55.000
whenever there\'s a problem that arises,
00:49:55.167 --> 00:49:57.584
always say to my kids and my partner:
00:49:57.751 --> 00:50:03.501
The only way to get through this,
whatever it is, is to talk about it.
00:50:03.667 --> 00:50:05.918
I don\'t see it different
on the world stage.
00:50:06.042 --> 00:50:10.375
Maybe I\'m naive,
but I\'d like to be in a room with
00:50:10.542 --> 00:50:14.000
the Head of Global Real Estate
of Blackstone.
00:50:14.167 --> 00:50:19.959
If I can get him
to talk about the human side of this,
00:50:20.083 --> 00:50:21.834
then we might get somewhere.
00:50:54.250 --> 00:50:58.542
People could be having a great time,
and then you can just see it physically
00:50:58.709 --> 00:51:01.125
in their bodies when we get to that topic.
00:51:01.292 --> 00:51:05.334
You can see it in their eyes,
how they hold their shoulders.
00:51:05.501 --> 00:51:08.792
\"You know, I don\'t know
how long we can live here.\"
00:51:08.959 --> 00:51:13.334
\"I don\'t know how long
we\'re going to be able to stay.\"
00:51:22.417 --> 00:51:26.751
The reason we live in cities
is for those accidental intimacies.
00:51:31.501 --> 00:51:35.375
It\'s... You\'re walking down the street
when you bump into someone
00:51:35.542 --> 00:51:39.417
and you end up having a conversation.
You come to a bar, and you wind up
00:51:39.584 --> 00:51:43.999
sitting next to somebody who\'s 20-30
years older, or younger, than you.
00:51:44.125 --> 00:51:48.542
And get into a conversation and before
you know it, you\'re figuring out life.
00:51:58.250 --> 00:52:01.876
The big thing that pisses me off is
that everywhere there\'s a condo,
00:52:02.000 --> 00:52:04.125
there\'s another Shoppers Drug Mart
and another TD bank
00:52:04.292 --> 00:52:06.751
and another corporate store!
00:52:10.042 --> 00:52:15.792
Pulling our money out of the community,
when it should be circulating within us.
00:52:36.792 --> 00:52:41.626
Kreuzberg was
like Harlem or the Bronx.
00:52:43.000 --> 00:52:45.167
Now it\'s hip.
00:52:45.334 --> 00:52:47.626
And \"tutto bene\".
00:52:58.209 --> 00:53:05.000
A letter saying:
\"Your contract is about to expire.\"
00:53:05.167 --> 00:53:11.167
\"We would like a renegotiation.
If not, termination.\"
00:53:11.334 --> 00:53:12.918
That\'s it.
00:53:14.667 --> 00:53:19.042
600 euros more, as of next month.
00:53:29.459 --> 00:53:31.999
\"According to the market\"...
00:53:32.125 --> 00:53:34.083
What could they possibly mean?
00:53:34.250 --> 00:53:40.792
Foot traffic? Frequency?
No idea.
00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:47.709
There\'s nothing you can say.
That I can say...
00:53:51.709 --> 00:53:53.584
\"Thank you.\"
00:53:55.375 --> 00:53:57.334
Like a coward.
00:54:00.209 --> 00:54:05.167
The table was bought for here,
tiles were installed...
00:54:06.626 --> 00:54:09.959
These are all investment costs.
00:54:12.167 --> 00:54:15.999
I\'m held prisoner by my own shop.
00:54:16.876 --> 00:54:19.999
And it\'s not just me,
all the other restaurants are affected too.
00:54:33.083 --> 00:54:40.542
Here in Kreuzberg, the rent increase
is higher than in Berlin.
00:54:40.709 --> 00:54:44.000
And the increase in Berlin
is about 20%
00:54:44.167 --> 00:54:48.000
Here, new rental properties
make up about 70% of the market.
00:54:49.250 --> 00:54:52.876
But Kreuzberg is known
for being populated by rebels,
00:54:53.000 --> 00:54:57.709
and we now have
the opportunity to show Germany
00:54:57.876 --> 00:55:00.209
or even the world,
that we can put a stop to this.
00:55:04.459 --> 00:55:10.083
There have been demonstrations,
protest actions and talks.
00:55:10.250 --> 00:55:14.292
And there have
been negotiations with politicians.
00:55:14.459 --> 00:55:18.250
There are initiatives that state:
\"We want to keep these places.
00:55:18.417 --> 00:55:20.542
\"They are meeting places.\"
00:55:20.709 --> 00:55:25.167
It might be a bookshop
or a greengrocer\'s...
00:55:25.334 --> 00:55:31.417
We\'re trying to explore every means
to buy back certain parts of the city.
00:55:32.250 --> 00:55:37.501
We\'ve secured something like
40 buildings in the past two years.
00:55:37.667 --> 00:55:41.834
That means more than 1,000
apartments, which is hardly insignificant.
00:55:43.667 --> 00:55:48.709
It\'s not about starting a revolution
and getting hung up on blame,
00:55:48.876 --> 00:55:52.209
it\'s about
restoring balance to the system.
00:55:58.042 --> 00:56:01.417
How far can you manage
to swim against the current?
00:56:01.584 --> 00:56:08.417
You won\'t succeed.
The fact is that nothing will change.
00:56:08.584 --> 00:56:11.167
People with money want to invest it.
00:56:11.334 --> 00:56:16.709
If you don\'t have money, you\'re screwed!
They force you out, gobble you up.
00:56:16.876 --> 00:56:22.250
Whatever you do is a drop in the ocean.
It\'s over. The train has already left...
00:56:22.417 --> 00:56:26.501
- But you\'re still here.
- Well, I\'ll have to raise my prices.
00:56:26.667 --> 00:56:30.250
I don\'t want to.
00:56:30.417 --> 00:56:36.417
I need to charge more, and hope
people will still buy my baked goods.
00:56:38.667 --> 00:56:44.250
This has nothing to do with gentrification,
I\'m convinced of that.
00:56:44.417 --> 00:56:49.584
We\'re dealing with something different.
That\'s why I\'m glad I don\'t have your job.
00:56:49.751 --> 00:56:53.000
- But I\'m zoning out.
- You\'re a fatalist.
00:56:53.167 --> 00:56:56.250
I can\'t convince you
that fighting would make a difference.
00:56:56.417 --> 00:57:01.292
Me?
You got that all wrong, I am a fighter.
00:57:06.042 --> 00:57:11.167
If I need a computer, I\'m not going to
go to the factory, I need a franchise.
00:57:11.334 --> 00:57:13.709
But do I really need a multinational
00:57:13.876 --> 00:57:15.556
to have a cup of coffee
in my neighborhood?
00:57:20.083 --> 00:57:23.667
When you have a Starbucks, it means
that some of the consumption capacity
00:57:23.834 --> 00:57:28.626
of the neighborhood goes away,
to the corporate.
00:57:30.667 --> 00:57:33.876
And then it just becomes
money that finance can use.
00:57:58.834 --> 00:58:03.626
Count four down
from the top left-hand corner.
00:58:03.792 --> 00:58:06.083
- My flat was there.
- Oh, my God...
00:58:06.250 --> 00:58:10.501
I actually bought my flat,
so I own that flat. I\'ve paid my mortgage.
00:58:10.667 --> 00:58:13.125
The problem is, the prices round here...
00:58:13.292 --> 00:58:18.959
for any flat around here,
is extortionate.
00:58:19.083 --> 00:58:23.501
They wanted to give us a little bit
of money and say, \"off you go\".
00:58:23.667 --> 00:58:25.334
But then I\'d have to move out of London,
00:58:25.501 --> 00:58:30.209
so I\'ve decided
to stay with friends.
00:58:32.876 --> 00:58:37.667
Most of the people that lived in that
tower block have still not been homed.
00:58:37.834 --> 00:58:40.250
- Nine months later.
- Nine months later...
00:58:43.709 --> 00:58:46.542
So anyway, to cut a long story short...
00:58:46.709 --> 00:58:48.751
I\'m now in a hostel.
00:58:48.918 --> 00:58:52.042
The place that they could offer me
could be anywhere in the country,
00:58:52.209 --> 00:58:56.125
and if I don\'t accept it.,
I\'d become intentionally homeless.
00:58:56.292 --> 00:58:58.999
- Anywhere in the country?
- Yeah.
00:58:59.125 --> 00:59:02.501
It could be Birmingham,
it could be Manchester, anywhere.
00:59:02.667 --> 00:59:07.417
If you can treat people,
after a tragedy like that,
00:59:07.584 --> 00:59:11.876
the way they\'re treating them now...
What hope does anyone have?
00:59:12.000 --> 00:59:17.209
The UN and also the ECHO,
00:59:17.375 --> 00:59:21.584
what are they doing to implement
sanctions for those in authority?
00:59:21.751 --> 00:59:27.542
So what comfort are you giving to us
that it\'s going to be addressed now?
00:59:39.459 --> 00:59:41.751
There must have been a time
when somehow,
00:59:41.918 --> 00:59:43.999
if you wanted to come to the city,
you had a job in the city,
00:59:44.125 --> 00:59:46.417
you could live in the city.
00:59:52.250 --> 00:59:58.083
We have arrived at a moment where
there is a gaping hole in our system.
01:00:02.042 --> 01:00:05.876
Most of our major international systems
01:00:06.000 --> 01:00:09.667
don\'t take the individual so seriously.
01:00:28.125 --> 01:00:29.626
Hi.
01:00:30.751 --> 01:00:34.542
- How\'s it going? How\'d you sleep?
- Not bad.
01:00:34.709 --> 01:00:36.999
But did you see the email?
01:00:37.125 --> 01:00:41.042
I just forwarded it to you.
From Blackstone.
01:00:41.209 --> 01:00:45.250
- Shall I read it?
- Why, what did they say?
01:00:45.417 --> 01:00:47.542
- They canceled the meeting.
- Oh, shit...
01:00:47.709 --> 01:00:52.250
He says: \"Your email was timely,
I need to cancel our meeting.\"
01:00:52.417 --> 01:00:56.042
And then he says: \"I hope you have
a productive trip to New York.\"
01:00:56.209 --> 01:00:59.959
- Nothing about rescheduling?
- No...
01:01:00.083 --> 01:01:02.834
- It\'s not very nice.
- It\'s hard to...
01:01:02.999 --> 01:01:05.751
They\'re living
in a totally different world than you are.
01:01:05.918 --> 01:01:09.959
But it would have
been an interesting conversation.
01:01:33.250 --> 01:01:35.999
I always picture myself like...
01:01:37.042 --> 01:01:41.834
I\'m 5 foot 2 (157 cm tall),
I\'m from this nowhere place.
01:01:41.999 --> 01:01:46.292
And I\'m trying to make
a huge difference globally.
01:01:47.250 --> 01:01:50.375
I\'m trying to change
an entire conversation...
01:01:51.417 --> 01:01:56.042
that\'s embedded in the way
people live all around the world.
01:01:56.209 --> 01:02:01.584
I look back at that girl from Ottawa,
01:02:01.751 --> 01:02:05.250
sitting in her basement office,
and it\'s like...
01:02:06.042 --> 01:02:08.042
What am I thinking?
01:02:08.209 --> 01:02:11.209
Is this ridiculous?
01:02:12.042 --> 01:02:14.834
Am I being ridiculous?
01:02:26.042 --> 01:02:28.792
This is armored glass.
01:02:33.667 --> 01:02:40.751
You tell the truth and get killed...
It\'s not as simple as that.
01:02:40.918 --> 01:02:46.542
You tell a true story,
you get an audience...
01:02:46.709 --> 01:02:49.709
And that\'s what makes you dangerous.
01:02:51.334 --> 01:02:55.584
It\'s the price you pay for telling a story.
01:03:00.459 --> 01:03:07.292
I was 26 when it started.
11 years have passed...
01:03:09.083 --> 01:03:12.292
I\'m used to battles.
01:03:23.250 --> 01:03:26.292
Elevators remind me...
01:03:28.501 --> 01:03:30.334
of tombs.
01:03:30.501 --> 01:03:34.209
Confined spaces bother me.
01:03:35.667 --> 01:03:39.626
Imagine that you make
100 million euros
01:03:39.792 --> 01:03:45.292
by trafficking cocaine or migrants.
01:03:46.292 --> 01:03:49.667
What do you do?
You buy restaurants,
01:03:49.834 --> 01:03:54.792
hotels and houses. How do you
justify such huge amounts of money?
01:03:54.959 --> 01:04:01.209
You open a company
in an offshore tax haven.
01:04:02.292 --> 01:04:10.292
You buy things on the cheap
with legal money.
01:04:10.709 --> 01:04:18.042
A restaurant in Rome, a hotel, houses...
Nothing suspicious.
01:04:18.209 --> 01:04:23.751
Then you sell those properties
to your company in a tax haven.
01:04:24.375 --> 01:04:30.042
Your offshore company
brings the assets back
01:04:30.209 --> 01:04:32.501
to Italy, England or Germany.
01:04:32.667 --> 01:04:35.501
This is how you launder and distribute
money all over the world.
01:04:35.667 --> 01:04:39.167
If you want to bring your dirty money
back into your country,
01:04:39.334 --> 01:04:47.334
you simply buy it from yourself,
at a much higher price than you paid.
01:04:48.667 --> 01:04:52.501
This mechanism cannot be attacked.
01:04:57.250 --> 01:05:03.167
Tax havens are where
legal and illegal capitalism meet.
01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:12.667
What do Queen Elizabeth,
the drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero,
01:05:12.834 --> 01:05:17.626
Shakira and Apple have in common?
01:05:17.792 --> 01:05:25.375
They all have a portion of, or almost all,
of their capital in a tax haven.
01:05:29.459 --> 01:05:34.501
Banks do business with cartels and
with those who make money honestly.
01:05:34.667 --> 01:05:39.834
Money from cocaine
and from tax shelters
01:05:39.999 --> 01:05:42.125
comes together in the same place.
01:05:43.501 --> 01:05:45.792
What happens to this money?
01:05:45.959 --> 01:05:49.667
It becomes companies, tourism,
01:05:49.834 --> 01:05:54.125
hotels, shops,
supermarkets, soccer teams...
01:05:55.667 --> 01:05:59.334
art, museums, and politics.
01:05:59.501 --> 01:06:04.334
You can no longer trace its origin.
01:06:05.918 --> 01:06:12.584
The first thing companies
like Amazon, Facebook and Netflix do,
01:06:12.751 --> 01:06:17.000
is look for a way to pay less in taxes.
01:06:17.167 --> 01:06:21.209
How is it possible
in a country like Italy,
01:06:21.375 --> 01:06:25.959
that an honest worker pays 60%,
01:06:26.083 --> 01:06:31.584
while a multi-billion-dollar company
only pays 4% in taxes.
01:06:38.918 --> 01:06:42.584
Two drivers are coming with the cars.
01:06:42.751 --> 01:06:45.584
Can I take the stairs?
01:06:45.751 --> 01:06:47.959
I\'m going now.
01:06:53.876 --> 01:06:56.709
Companies don\'t want
inexpensive real estate,
01:06:56.876 --> 01:07:00.250
they want to pay as much as possible,
01:07:00.417 --> 01:07:02.959
to be able to hide more money.
01:07:07.000 --> 01:07:12.083
Without money from your family,
01:07:12.250 --> 01:07:17.000
the next generation won\'t
be able to own a home.
01:07:38.459 --> 01:07:43.501
It is a totally dysfunctional system.
01:07:45.292 --> 01:07:50.626
In the late 1970s and 1980s,
there developed...
01:07:50.792 --> 01:07:54.292
I\'m calling it an ideology, a religion,
01:07:54.459 --> 01:07:58.959
that markets solve all problems.
01:07:59.083 --> 01:08:02.167
There\'ll be big winners,
there\'ll be big losers.
01:08:02.334 --> 01:08:06.417
In the name of equality, should the
winnings be redistributed to the losers
01:08:06.584 --> 01:08:09.667
so that everybody
ends up where he started?
01:08:09.834 --> 01:08:12.042
That would take
all the fun out of the game.
01:08:12.209 --> 01:08:14.999
The high priest was Milton Friedman.
01:08:15.999 --> 01:08:19.209
The big experiment
was Chile under Pinochet.
01:08:19.375 --> 01:08:23.792
It took a dictator
to really implement these ideas.
01:08:25.459 --> 01:08:30.125
They thought that if we privatized,
stripped away regulations,
01:08:30.292 --> 01:08:33.751
and lowered taxes,
growth would go up.
01:08:33.918 --> 01:08:36.542
Everybody would get more.
01:08:36.709 --> 01:08:39.667
Some people
would get a lot more, at the top,
01:08:39.834 --> 01:08:43.417
but putting aside envy,
01:08:43.584 --> 01:08:48.459
everybody would
get a bigger piece of the pie.
01:08:50.459 --> 01:08:54.250
It ignored the many instances
01:08:54.417 --> 01:08:56.792
where markets do not work well.
01:09:01.834 --> 01:09:05.459
What produced this tremendous
improvement in technology?
01:09:05.626 --> 01:09:09.959
It was self-interest,
or if you prefer, greed...
01:09:10.083 --> 01:09:15.042
Milton Friedman gave them
an economic argument
01:09:15.209 --> 01:09:20.417
for why they should be
unconcerned about morality.
01:09:23.042 --> 01:09:27.000
Well, after a third of a century
of this experiment,
01:09:27.167 --> 01:09:29.125
we now know that it\'s wrong...
01:09:30.667 --> 01:09:36.167
that you can make money
by destroying the world.
01:09:36.334 --> 01:09:38.999
And there\'s something wrong with that.
01:09:45.042 --> 01:09:47.999
When I think
how will finance come down...
01:09:48.125 --> 01:09:50.167
It\'s bringing itself down.
01:09:50.334 --> 01:09:56.083
It has extracted so much value,
that it\'s stuck now.
01:09:56.250 --> 01:09:58.626
It\'s beginning to go
on the other side of the curve,
01:09:58.792 --> 01:10:01.083
it\'s beginning to decline.
01:10:01.250 --> 01:10:04.709
The amount of value,
the capacity to invent more assets,
01:10:04.876 --> 01:10:08.626
we see sort of a stasis a bit.
So it will bring itself down.
01:10:08.792 --> 01:10:12.459
It will come back, potentially roaring,
01:10:12.626 --> 01:10:15.792
but right now,
it\'s a bit of stasis.
01:10:35.876 --> 01:10:42.125
\"We need a worldwide,
multi-sectoral movement.
01:10:42.292 --> 01:10:44.052
\"We need to change
how the world thinks about
01:10:44.209 --> 01:10:47.375
\"and interacts with housing and home.
01:10:47.542 --> 01:10:52.792
\"The Shift sees housing
as a human right, not a commodity.\"
01:10:52.959 --> 01:10:56.250
We\'re going to do bullets, like: bam!
01:10:57.250 --> 01:11:01.959
If we\'re going to defend
cities as we know them,
01:11:02.083 --> 01:11:04.959
I can\'t do it alone.
01:11:05.667 --> 01:11:09.834
I decided to create
a new movement called \"The Shift\",
01:11:09.999 --> 01:11:12.834
so that we can come up with ideas
01:11:12.999 --> 01:11:17.167
of how to protect our cities.
01:11:17.999 --> 01:11:21.792
It\'s not an NGO movement,
it\'s not a movement of just cities,
01:11:21.959 --> 01:11:26.999
it\'s a movement, hopefully,
of all stakeholders.
01:11:27.125 --> 01:11:30.999
You know, it\'s fitting to be
launching The Shift here in Barcelona,
01:11:31.125 --> 01:11:33.876
where the effects of financialization
have taken hold.
01:11:34.000 --> 01:11:36.000
And where there\'s
a mayor like Ada Colau.
01:11:36.167 --> 01:11:38.417
I hired a young woman, Julie,
01:11:38.584 --> 01:11:43.501
who had a background
in International Human-Rights Law.
01:11:43.667 --> 01:11:46.542
I knew that she could really
handle the demands
01:11:46.709 --> 01:11:49.459
of being an assistant to a Rapporteur.
01:11:52.667 --> 01:11:54.292
Cut-and-paste these and move them up.
01:11:54.459 --> 01:11:58.375
\"One third of deaths worldwide are linked
to poverty and inadequate housing.\"
01:11:58.542 --> 01:12:00.250
- It\'s good.
- Yeah.
01:12:02.042 --> 01:12:07.459
Cities are becoming
the playground for the rich,
01:12:07.626 --> 01:12:12.626
and excluding middle-,
low-income and poor households,
01:12:12.792 --> 01:12:15.834
pushing them out of cities.
01:12:15.999 --> 01:12:21.042
We need a worldwide movement
to reclaim and realize
01:12:21.209 --> 01:12:24.417
the fundamental right to housing.
01:12:24.584 --> 01:12:29.667
The principal factors in pushing
people out of Barcelona
01:12:29.834 --> 01:12:32.459
are housing speculation, gentrification,
01:12:32.626 --> 01:12:38.959
and big capital, which like vultures
hover over our city
01:12:39.083 --> 01:12:43.918
to seize maximum benefits
at the cost of basic needs.
01:12:45.250 --> 01:12:51.042
I\'ve been looking at Blackstone,
the largest private equity firm.
01:12:51.209 --> 01:12:54.999
They have more power than the State.
01:12:55.125 --> 01:12:58.751
You know exactly, you\'re crying.
01:13:00.876 --> 01:13:06.042
So how are you... You need the support
of the state, the national, behind you,
01:13:06.209 --> 01:13:11.167
If you\'re going to try to move in
and influence Blackstone.
01:13:11.334 --> 01:13:16.250
- Sometimes we win.
- Give me an example.
01:13:16.417 --> 01:13:20.584
- What an example of when you\'ve won?
- Sometimes we win time.
01:13:20.751 --> 01:13:24.792
At least for a year,
and that\'s very important.
01:13:24.959 --> 01:13:28.083
- Stop them from doing what?
- Renovation works.
01:13:28.250 --> 01:13:32.834
- The fact is, by all the buildings...
- They renovate them.
01:13:32.999 --> 01:13:36.417
When we have some of these
hedge funds trying to speculate,
01:13:36.584 --> 01:13:40.042
and they want to buy the building,
we buy it first.
01:13:40.209 --> 01:13:43.584
But we do it because we have money...
01:13:43.751 --> 01:13:45.459
That can be expensive.
01:13:45.626 --> 01:13:49.876
I\'m interested to know how the investors,
01:13:50.000 --> 01:13:56.792
\"vulture funds\", the hedge funds,
Airbnb, are reacting to what you\'re doing.
01:13:56.959 --> 01:14:03.792
Airbnb had a strong reaction,
they were very aggressive.
01:14:03.959 --> 01:14:09.542
They can\'t stand being regulated.
01:14:09.709 --> 01:14:14.709
Some groups acting
like authentic mafias right now.
01:14:16.709 --> 01:14:22.042
I spoke to Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London.
01:14:22.209 --> 01:14:26.834
Their main issue is housing speculation.
01:14:26.999 --> 01:14:33.584
We exchange strategies to get stronger.
Big cities all face similar problems.
01:14:33.751 --> 01:14:41.250
We want productive, fair,
and sustainable investments in our city.
01:14:41.417 --> 01:14:45.334
It\'s a David and Goliath situation.
01:14:45.501 --> 01:14:49.209
It\'s a tough fight.
Some nights, we don\'t sleep.
01:14:49.375 --> 01:14:52.792
Expectations are very high,
people\'s lives are at stake.
01:15:19.083 --> 01:15:23.292
It was really incredible
to see you and Ada there.
01:15:24.667 --> 01:15:29.667
You don\'t get that often,
seeing two women with children and...
01:15:29.834 --> 01:15:32.709
To have that moment too, where you
can talk about your kids,
01:15:32.876 --> 01:15:35.584
And it\'s like,
talk about changing the world
01:15:35.751 --> 01:15:40.542
from one breath to another,
it\'s not something you see.
01:15:41.250 --> 01:15:47.042
- It feels like it was so tiny.
- Before we got here.
01:15:47.209 --> 01:15:49.918
And now it\'s like...
01:15:51.417 --> 01:15:54.792
The Mayor of Barcelona
is maybe going to pitch this
01:15:54.959 --> 01:15:58.167
to the Mayor of New York,
the Mayor of London...
01:15:59.834 --> 01:16:03.876
So, the question is...
The big question, Julie.
01:16:04.000 --> 01:16:08.042
- Are you up for it?
- I\'m up for it.
01:16:11.417 --> 01:16:13.667
- Okay...
- Cheers!
01:16:29.459 --> 01:16:31.834
The starting point that I had
01:16:31.999 --> 01:16:37.459
was these big private
equity firms like Blackstone...
01:16:37.626 --> 01:16:42.125
It has taken me
some time to ask the question:
01:16:42.292 --> 01:16:45.667
Where are they getting their money from?
01:16:48.042 --> 01:16:51.417
Pension funds have
a huge amount of money.
01:16:51.584 --> 01:16:56.125
They need to grow
in order to make sure
01:16:56.292 --> 01:17:00.042
that the people
who pay into the pension fund
01:17:00.209 --> 01:17:05.042
have something to live on
at the end of their working lives.
01:17:05.209 --> 01:17:07.959
My mission to South Korea
was planned well before
01:17:08.083 --> 01:17:10.459
I had this piece of information:
01:17:10.626 --> 01:17:12.626
Some of the largest pension funds
are right here.
01:17:12.792 --> 01:17:14.584
The National Pension Service
01:17:14.751 --> 01:17:17.834
is the third-largest
pension fund in the world.
01:17:17.999 --> 01:17:20.375
It was one of the poorest countries,
01:17:20.542 --> 01:17:25.834
and now it\'s the 11th-largest
economy in the world.
01:17:25.999 --> 01:17:28.751
In 50 years, that\'s pretty impressive!
01:17:28.918 --> 01:17:32.792
But, of course, to make that happen,
in a 50-year period,
01:17:32.959 --> 01:17:39.334
required a kind of brutalism
of massive development.
01:17:55.667 --> 01:18:00.083
There were 340 houses here.
01:18:01.042 --> 01:18:06.167
In 2008, the thugs started coming.
01:18:08.250 --> 01:18:12.876
The thugs were hired
by the construction company.
01:18:13.000 --> 01:18:17.709
The police came with the thugs
to watch their backs.
01:18:20.667 --> 01:18:27.999
They came over that hill,
with hammers.
01:18:29.042 --> 01:18:33.083
The villagers were inside.
The thugs destroyed the walls and got in.
01:18:33.250 --> 01:18:39.834
Lots of women were beaten,
including my wife.
01:18:42.459 --> 01:18:45.584
They kicked her in the stomach.
01:18:46.250 --> 01:18:49.959
When she passed out,
they kept on kicking her.
01:19:01.042 --> 01:19:04.250
No one seems to know
01:19:04.417 --> 01:19:07.918
that that\'s where
their pension money is going.
01:19:08.042 --> 01:19:10.876
No one seems to really care.
01:19:11.000 --> 01:19:14.792
That\'s how we
will be able to move forward,
01:19:14.959 --> 01:19:18.125
just through some simple conversations.
01:19:18.292 --> 01:19:23.167
I did speak with representatives
from the National Pension Service,
01:19:23.334 --> 01:19:26.334
and they were
pretty matter-of-fact at first
01:19:26.501 --> 01:19:30.250
about what their job is, and I get it:
01:19:30.417 --> 01:19:33.167
Their job is
to grow money for pensioners.
01:19:33.334 --> 01:19:36.751
We give our money to asset managers.
01:19:36.918 --> 01:19:40.167
They then decide where it gets invested.
01:19:40.334 --> 01:19:42.999
So, distancing themselves from it.
01:19:43.125 --> 01:19:46.834
So it doesn\'t really matter
where the pension money\'s going,
01:19:46.999 --> 01:19:48.209
as long as it\'s a good return.
01:19:50.042 --> 01:19:53.501
National and city governments
in South Korea
01:19:53.667 --> 01:19:57.584
need to make some major shifts
01:19:57.751 --> 01:20:02.459
before they will be in full compliance
with their human rights obligations.
01:20:02.626 --> 01:20:09.459
Human Rights law is very specific
about those types of projects.
01:20:09.626 --> 01:20:14.834
First of all: Forced eviction,
under international human rights,
01:20:14.999 --> 01:20:18.626
is considered
a gross violation of human rights.
01:20:18.792 --> 01:20:21.501
People die in forced evictions.
01:20:21.667 --> 01:20:26.626
People\'s lives are basically ruined.
It\'s not to be taken lightly.
01:20:39.042 --> 01:20:42.792
Core issues,
like climate change, housing,
01:20:42.959 --> 01:20:48.334
they ought to be embedded into the
fiduciary frameworks of pension funds.
01:20:58.667 --> 01:21:04.417
Pension funds are representing
people who are going to retire.
01:21:09.250 --> 01:21:13.125
And you have to ask,
how would they feel about this?
01:21:16.250 --> 01:21:21.417
Would they feel comfortable
with owning shares in a company...
01:21:23.209 --> 01:21:25.542
that is that immoral?
01:21:59.918 --> 01:22:03.209
I\'d lived there 38 years.
01:22:03.375 --> 01:22:08.918
Paid my rent for 38 years and they\'re
supposed to upkeep the building.
01:22:09.042 --> 01:22:12.083
But the management company
01:22:12.250 --> 01:22:16.417
had readily admitted
there\'s been nothing done for 40 years.
01:22:16.584 --> 01:22:19.459
So where\'s all that money
I\'ve already spent?
01:22:19.626 --> 01:22:22.542
Now the new company
wants me to give them more money.
01:22:22.709 --> 01:22:27.209
The unit that I live in, in one year
has gone up about 325 dollars.
01:22:27.375 --> 01:22:33.542
It\'s a familiar story, it\'s the same
situation we were dealing with.
01:22:33.709 --> 01:22:38.000
They just wouldn\'t do repairs,
they try to make your living environment
01:22:38.167 --> 01:22:42.792
as toxic as possible,
but you have the moral high ground.
01:22:42.959 --> 01:22:47.667
So talk to the media.
This is how we won the rent strike.
01:22:47.834 --> 01:22:52.876
You\'re in the first month of the rent
strike and we went into month four.
01:22:53.000 --> 01:22:56.876
So it\'s a bit of a haul,
but it\'s worth all your time and effort.
01:22:57.000 --> 01:23:00.125
Through some research,
we\'ve discovered
01:23:00.292 --> 01:23:03.709
that the previous landlords
who had the building,
01:23:03.876 --> 01:23:05.751
this new company
came in and bought them out.
01:23:05.918 --> 01:23:08.375
And this property management company
01:23:08.542 --> 01:23:11.375
has investment companies
that have certain shares.
01:23:11.542 --> 01:23:17.167
And one of them turns out to be
a government pension fund holder.
01:23:17.334 --> 01:23:20.959
So imagine, you have
George here on a pension,
01:23:21.083 --> 01:23:24.999
and they are taking care of money
for pension holders, right?
01:23:25.125 --> 01:23:27.751
Wait \'til they find out
that somebody who\'s on a pension
01:23:27.918 --> 01:23:31.751
is being extorted,
and they\'re pushing him out!
01:23:31.918 --> 01:23:34.918
Why are you pushing
working-class people out of your home?
01:23:35.042 --> 01:23:39.375
That\'s a question you have to ask
these pension-fund holders, right?
01:24:02.876 --> 01:24:07.209
The one thing that we are weak on
01:24:07.375 --> 01:24:11.334
that has been
brought up to me a couple of times,
01:24:11.501 --> 01:24:15.876
is that this is rhetoric,
it\'s political grandstanding...
01:24:16.000 --> 01:24:19.709
- But I see value in rhetoric these days.
- I do too.
01:24:19.876 --> 01:24:21.626
I think the battle is rhetoric.
01:24:21.792 --> 01:24:26.667
When people hear their government
say that this is a human right,
01:24:26.834 --> 01:24:29.667
it empowers the citizens.
01:24:29.834 --> 01:24:32.083
That\'s not rhetoric.
01:24:32.250 --> 01:24:35.209
Are they only staying tonight?
01:24:35.375 --> 01:24:38.667
I get back Tuesday night,
but kind of late.
01:24:38.834 --> 01:24:40.667
What else has been going on?
01:24:40.834 --> 01:24:43.501
We\'re doing The Shift meeting.
01:24:43.667 --> 01:24:45.918
The mayors are going to be there...
01:24:46.042 --> 01:24:47.999
Cool. It\'s pretty cool,
01:24:48.125 --> 01:24:51.959
I feel slightly, you know...
01:24:52.083 --> 01:24:53.375
Things can go sideways.
01:24:53.542 --> 01:24:56.834
Overwhelmed?
No, I don\'t feel...
01:24:58.250 --> 01:25:00.709
Stressed?
01:25:05.459 --> 01:25:11.000
- Hi, I\'m Leilani, the Special Rapporteur.
- I\'m from the Mayor\'s team.
01:25:17.334 --> 01:25:21.501
- Good to see you - again.
- Yes. It\'s good to see you.
01:25:33.501 --> 01:25:36.083
We\'re buying back land.
01:25:36.250 --> 01:25:39.959
The land we now possess
will remain in public ownership.
01:25:41.501 --> 01:25:47.709
Airbnb refused to talk to us.
We issued a fine of 600,000 euros...
01:25:47.876 --> 01:25:52.000
Now Airbnb are talking to us!
01:25:57.209 --> 01:26:01.042
We have come together
with cities, with partners,
01:26:01.209 --> 01:26:05.584
with local government associations
to build a partnership.
01:26:05.751 --> 01:26:10.459
In Berlin, we will no longer
allow public land to be privatized.
01:26:10.626 --> 01:26:12.959
We may even go further than that.
01:26:13.083 --> 01:26:18.918
I\'ve read about things
they do in London or here in New York
01:26:19.042 --> 01:26:21.417
that would be fantastic.
01:26:21.584 --> 01:26:25.999
That\'s why this declaration
is very important.
01:26:26.125 --> 01:26:34.125
It\'s vital that this political message can
bring cities together in their diversity.
01:26:34.375 --> 01:26:39.999
What you around this table do
can have a huge influence.
01:26:40.125 --> 01:26:42.709
It can guide other cities to prevent
01:26:42.876 --> 01:26:47.000
powerful financial actors...
And they are powerful!
01:26:47.167 --> 01:26:51.083
From dismantling
cities as we know them.
01:26:51.250 --> 01:26:55.584
We thought a lot about whether it
was the right time for New York
01:26:55.751 --> 01:26:58.417
to sign on to this declaration,
and we decided it really is.
01:26:58.584 --> 01:27:01.000
These are issues
we are all grappling with.
01:27:01.167 --> 01:27:05.042
We do feel like it\'s a great opportunity
to be learning from each other.
01:27:05.209 --> 01:27:09.459
- We\'re very excited to be part of this.
- Thank you very much.
01:27:19.709 --> 01:27:22.042
I don\'t have any pictures of you.
01:27:22.209 --> 01:27:24.042
Now I do.
01:27:24.209 --> 01:27:27.751
Anyway, we do need to do...
We should do another piece,
01:27:27.918 --> 01:27:30.501
now Jane Dudman
is back from the Guardian.
01:27:30.667 --> 01:27:33.209
I wonder about taking
another \"kick at the can\"...
01:27:34.250 --> 01:27:37.042
- on financialization.
- I think we need to.
01:27:37.209 --> 01:27:40.834
The one take-away they should know
01:27:40.999 --> 01:27:43.959
is that cities
around the world are shifting.
01:27:44.083 --> 01:27:47.083
And publicly doing so...
01:28:09.709 --> 01:28:13.125
Every place I\'ve been,
people are really hospitable.
01:28:13.292 --> 01:28:16.083
In Serbia, you can show up
for lunch with 16 people,
01:28:16.250 --> 01:28:20.209
and they\'re like: \"Here, let\'s have
the 14-year-old rakija Grandpa made!\"
01:28:24.918 --> 01:28:28.125
I have two things for you that I\'m hoping
will help you move forward,
01:28:28.292 --> 01:28:32.542
to ensuring the right to housing
is in the national housing strategy.
01:28:32.709 --> 01:28:35.459
The first one is totally practical:
01:28:35.626 --> 01:28:37.918
Draft legislation.
01:28:39.209 --> 01:28:40.292
Amazing...
01:28:45.250 --> 01:28:48.959
We use the same language...
01:28:49.375 --> 01:28:52.417
to capture something
that has foundationally changed.
01:28:53.918 --> 01:28:57.918
They\'re not intrinsically evil,
but they are intrinsically amoral.
01:28:58.042 --> 01:29:01.834
So amoral that they are, I would say...
01:29:02.000 --> 01:29:03.959
evil!
01:29:08.918 --> 01:29:13.167
I am the agent who\'s helping Kiren find
a place and we saw your place today.
01:29:13.334 --> 01:29:15.417
Oh, my God! Here\'s Kiren.
01:29:15.584 --> 01:29:17.501
I love, love, love this house!
01:29:17.667 --> 01:29:21.292
I love the backyard, I love the place
up top, the beautiful sanctuary.
01:29:21.459 --> 01:29:24.999
The sliding-glass doors,
the big island in the kitchen...
01:29:25.125 --> 01:29:29.167
I need a new home, and I\'m looking
forward to maybe that one being it.
01:29:29.334 --> 01:29:31.334
Have a great day.
01:29:31.501 --> 01:29:32.501
Yay!