Squatting and the State
Resilient Property in an Age of Crisis

This book offers a fresh theoretical approach and methodology for tackling the most pressing property problems of our time.

Lorna Fox O'Mahony (Author), Marc L. Roark (Author)

9781108738033, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 25 August 2022

480 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.6 cm, 0.72 kg

'The authors have produced a monumental contribution to property theory. States should draw inspiration from this monograph as they respond to the polycentric demands of housing crises at multiple levels using an array of resources. Resilience thinking and adaptability will become the baseline in housing scholarship for years to come.' Gustav Muller, Associate Professor of Private Law, University of Pretoria

Squatting and the State offers a new theoretical and methodological approach for analyzing state response to squatting, homelessness, empty land, and housing. Embedded in local, national, and transnational contexts, and reaching beyond conventional property theories, this important work sets out a fresh analytical paradigm for understanding the deep, interlocking problems facing not just the traditional 'victims' of narratives about homelessness and squatting but also a variety of other participants in these conflicts. Against the backdrop of economic, social, and political crises, Squatting and the State offers readers important insights about the changing natures of property, investment, housing, communities, and the multi-level state, and describes the implications of these changes for how we think and talk about property in law.

Introduction Squatters, Scale, and the State
Part I. Squatting and the State: 1. States, narratives, and norms
2. Squatting and the law
3. Property theory and the state
4. Scaling the state
Part II. Resilient Property in an Age of Crises: 5. Resilient property methodology
6. Possession, pragmatism, and homeless squatting
7. Ownership and absent owners
8. Aggregate interests – neighborhoods, markets, and social movements
Part III. Resilient Property in Action: 9. Scaling resilience and the state
10. Postscript: Resilient property and the pandemic
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Property law [LNS]