World Habitat Day -- October 2nd

You probably won't find it on most calendars, but October 2nd is World Habitat Day. Let's keep track of how many evictions are reported.

I've been thinking about what people can do to ensure that people do have the right to shelter. The International Alliance of Inhabitants has called for this week to constitute World Zero Eviction Days in counterpoint to World Habitat Day. It's a great idea, but when I read the fine print, I thing something's missing: a tough-nosed political strategy for making the demand a reality.

Here's my modest proposal: tell the World Bank, let's create a concrete plan to force the IMF, the G-7, the U.S. State Department's Agency for International Development, and the U.N. Development Program (feel free to add ot the list) to agree to the following demand: No money for any country or municipality that engages in forced evictions.

Let's starve those horrible regimes that push people from their homes and force them to acknowledge housing as a human right.