Talking Houses

How can so basic a human need as shelter present permanent problems for a significant section of the population? As one of the few internationally known libertarian writers in the field of housing and other social issues, and with a keen observation informed by broad personal experience, Ward is well placed to both diagnose the malady and suggest remedies. In this series of talks given to various audiences worldwide, he reveals the history of housing and town planning internationally as a series of conflicts between the top-down approach to local administration, which prefers effeciency to democracy, and the grassroots approach, with its emphasis on fostering self-reliance in citizens. His themes include An Anarchist Approach to Urban Planning; Until We Build Again; Direct Action for Working Class Housing; The Do-it-Yourself New Town; and the bureaucrats’ nightmare, Dismantling Whitehall. Ward is a well informed and respected exponent of radical and equitable solutions to social problems through community control and self-help initiatives. His simple message here, to layman and expert alike, is `dweller control’.