we face a global crisis of housing vacancy: more and more homes are being left to stand empty, whether as part of speculative investment practices or as the fallout of spatial shifts in capital and production. at the same time, access to safe and affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce. addressing the contradicting vacancy and scarcity of housing is among the core aims of the global empty homes network (gehn), a consortium of advocates and researchers formed in 2021 by the english campaigning charity action on empty homes. examining the empty homes crisis through a global lens helps to link together analysis of global economic structures with understanding of the diverse ways in which value is generated in empty homes around the world. this article provides an overview of gehn’s main areas of work, attending to key themes such as real estate speculation, rural depopulation, value and commodification, data quality, and campaigns against empty homes.
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from the introduction
millions of people around the world struggle to access housing, with many forced to make do in low quality accommodations and still others experiencing homelessness altogether. this is despite the fact that millions of homes around the world are currently standing empty. in england, for example, the number of long-term empty homes and second homes increased dramatically between 2022 and 2023, with total vacancy coming to around one million homes. this article examines the work of the global empty homes network (gehn), an initiative of action on empty homes (aeh), a uk charity raising awareness and campaigning to bring empty homes back into use.
