Friday, 21 February 2014

The waters recede

Canal after floods 2014-02The recent extensive flooding in England was not too bad around where I live, but still it has highighted the ways nature will take revenge when abused: sometimes with violence, sometimes with subtlety.

Here, the canal level seems to have raised quantities of plastic junk and then left it on display as the waters receded, as if to say, 'Excuse me, you dropped something'.

 

 

21 Feb 2014 17:31:52 | Space and place

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First they came First they came for the benefits, and I did not speak out, because I was not on benefits. Then they came for the care services, and I did not speak out, because I was not in care. Then they came for the pensions and the squatters and the spare rooms, and I did not speak out, because I have my own home and some savings. Then they came for legal aid, and I did not speak out, because I have not yet been arrested and accused. Then they came for the teachers, and the nurses, and the social workers, and the health visitors, and the librarians, and the probation workers, and the firefighters, and the environmental experts, and there was no-one left to support me. (With apologies to Martin Niemoller)
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Estate agents and community development It can be hard to find a good word to say about estate agents. This morning I had a conversation about their role (or potential role) as sponsors for neighbourhood online networks. There are examples around and you can see why it works for all parties. But whoever heard of an estate agent who says they will invest their profits into community development? Say hello to Urban Patchwork: ‘We believe that all estate agents should be run as social enterprises, where, after running costs and people’s salaries, all profits are pumped back into the local communities where they operate. This would mean that estate agents would contribute positively to empowering the less well-off in their area, instead of contributing to pricing people out of their own communities. People would also want to use them because they would know their money is benefiting their community as a whole, helping to create a more collective and diverse environment in which to live.’ It’s curious how without thought we come to accept certain kinds of service as belonging in the private sector, and others as being in the public sector. But there are some examples that force us to reflect. Most people probably think the fire service, for instance, is rightly a public service; but its origins are in the private sector (insurance). Many people might suppose that the lifeboat system is publicly-funded, and perhaps it should be, but it’s entirely charitable. The great thing about the social enterprise movement is that it stimulates fresh thinking on these sorts of questions without getting tangled in the ridiculous anti-public ideology of the right. Why shouldn’t the work of estate agents be seen as a community service? I’m really impressed.

Kevin Harris

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