Housing, Activism and Local Government: The Bendigo Street Occupation – A Case Study
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Housing, Activism and Local Government: The Bendigo Street Occupation – A Case Study chronicles an important yet unstudied chapter in Australian housing and local government. In March 2016, housing activists occupied a series of vacant homes in Bendigo Street, Collingwood, that had been acquired by the state for the abandoned East-West Link Project.
What happened next brought important lessons for housing activists and policy makers. The research distils these lessons through dialogue with former occupiers of Bendigo Street, local government staff, and councillors.
The proposals in the research set the ground for a new relationship of meaningful connection between housing activists and local government, including Councillors and staff involved in planning and all areas of social policy.
This research was undertaken by Mike Collins and Kelly Whitworth through the Melbourne Social Equity Institute's Community Fellows Program.
Associate Professor Crystal Legacy and Professor Carolyn Whitzman from the Melbourne School of Design undertook the role of academic mentors.