Squatting is the long-term act of repurposing derelict property or land without the permission of the owner. DEFINITION
It occurs worldwide and Robert Neuwirth has commented that there were over 1 billion (one in seven) squatters worldwide in 2004. He predicted this would increase to 2 billion by 2030 (one in four), and 3 billion by 2050 (one in three).[1]
Sade lived with her then boyfriend writer
Robert Elms in a squat in Tottenham in north London in the 1980s.[7] Likewise, comedians
Harry Enfield,
Charlie Higson and
Paul Whitehouse were squatting in Hackney in east London.[8].
Jimmy Cauty lived at Trancentral, a squat in Stockwell, London, described by Melody Maker as "large and rather grotty". Cauty heated the kitchen by burning all the gas hobs on full.[9]
The Legacy of Luna is a 2000 book written by
Julia Butterfly Hill about her experiences
tree sitting in an ancient redwood tree. She occupied the tree in northern California for just over two years as part of a campaign to stop trees being cut down for lumber.[18]
Magnificence is a 1973 play by
Howard Brenton exploring 1970s far-left political radicalism, which was restaged in 2016 after not being performed in London for over 40 years.[25]
Lefties was a three part BBC documentary series focusing upon leftist politics in the UK in the 1970s. Part one examined Villa Road, a street of squats in Brixton.[28]
Night Lodgers is a 2007 documentary film about people eking out an existence whilst living at the former
Grande Hotel Beira in Mozambique. It is directed by Licínio Azevedo.
Suburbia is a 1984 film by
Penelope Spheeris about young punks in California who run away from home and start squatting.[31]
The Strategy of the Snail is a 1993 Colombian film directed by
Sergio Cabrera. It concerns a group of squatters who have lived in a large building, for some time. When the previously absent owner wants to evict them, the squatters decide to delay the process and take as much with them as they can.[32]
Two Up, Two Down was a 1979 British television sitcom about a couple moving into a house with squatters and deciding to share it with them.[33]