On 5th February 2018 Mara went to Stratford, in the London Borough of Newham to interview members of the Newham Long-life Housing Co-operative and its emergence from the short-life cooperative housing movement of the 1970s and 1980s. The Longlife Housing Co-operative Limited is a fully-mutual housing co-operative set up in 1981. While at its origins the houses it managed were temporary, its members achieved permanent housing by setting up community-led umbrella organisations and negotiating with the local authority. The co-operative currently manages a total of 64 dwelling units across the borough and provides truly affordable and democratically managed housing for rental. In the interview, long-term members recalled the history of negotiating for short-life housing in Newham, and reflected on the differences with the the parallel history of short-life housing cooperatives in the London Borough of Haringey, in the north of the city. More information available at Newham Long-life Housing Co-operative.
