On the 28th March 2018, the London archive and education space Mayday Rooms hosted the public event ‘From squats to co-ops: reflections on commoning housing’. The evening included a presentation by Mara on the little known but fascinating history of how organised squatters in early 1970s London formalised the rehabilitation and self-management of empty homes as housing co-operatives. Some of these ‘short-life’ co-operatives remained temporary and rapidly disappeared as the city became more gentrified. In a few cases, however, they became a stepping stone towards the establishment of permanent community-led social rented housing as cooperatives or housing associations. The presentation offered preliminary insights from ongoing research into histories of short-life co-operative and their relationship to housing movements, and was followed by a debate around conditions, imaginaries and forms of organising that enable building and reclaiming spaces for non-speculative, collectively managed housing in cities. The event was organised as part of ‘The Politics of Organised Squatting’ research residency at the Mayday Rooms archive.
