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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday August 23 2016, @12:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the helping-wiht-the-upkeep dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Squatters who illegally occupy vacant homes or buildings are not always contributing to apathy or social disorder, says a new University of Michigan study that will be presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

It can actually be a good situation for a neighborhood to have these individuals move into abandoned homes, lessening the chance of them becoming sites for drug users or burned by arsonists, the study indicates.

In urban communities nationwide, such as Detroit, which are experiencing population decline, homes have been abandoned by owners or left unattended by private investors who often purchase them in bundles of tens, hundreds, or even thousands.

"While attempts to revitalize a city rely on private ownership to induce responsible care for property, that isn't always an option," said study author Claire Herbert, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned a PhD in sociology.

That's where squatters come in.

Herbert, who will be an assistant professor at Drexel University in the fall, interviewed more than 60 people, including squatters, city authorities, and residents between 2013-2015, while also gathering ethnographic data on illegal property use from various sources, such as community meetings and squatted areas across Detroit.

Surprisingly, many of the residents in the study welcome squatters to keep abandoned homes occupied. Squatting, however, was not considered acceptable to residents if the home was still occupied or if the legal owner was maintaining and overseeing the property.


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  • (Score: 2) by jmoschner on Wednesday August 24 2016, @12:44AM

    by jmoschner (3296) on Wednesday August 24 2016, @12:44AM (#392388)

    Most Landlords don't care about anything but collecting their rent check. If there is damage, they will bill the occupants or take it out of their deposit. If there is noise, they don't care. Most just want their money can could care less about the people living there as there are always people looking for a new place to live.

    Place that take Section 8 are usually the worst. They know they are getting a steady paycheck from those tenants (thanks to the government) and jack up the price for everyone else to maintain that check. The Section 8 residents can do just about anything short of burning the place down and the landlords don't care.

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