The Tenant Class - a conversation with author Ricardo Tranjan

As the cost of living continues to rise and housing remains one of the hottest topics in the news, there's a common misconception in North America that tenants are just homeowners in waiting. Laws and incentives are written to support this idea, and it's leaving a growing generation of tenants behind in a way that is detrimental for us all. This week's guest, author and political economist Ricardo Tranjan, Ph.D., does away with this myth in his latest book, The Tenant Class. Tranjan challenges the very notion of a housing crisis, proposing an alternative perspective – a housing market functioning precisely as intended. 

His conversation with Fredrik and Leilani looks at what happens when advocates go on the offensive, the power of collective action, and what happens when advocates get a little aggressive.

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Cities are becoming increasingly unliveable for most people. Costs are rising but incomes are not. Sky-high rents, evictions, homelessness, and substandard housing are common realities for urban dwellers across the planet. There is a global housing crisis. How did this basic human right get so lost? Who is pushing people out of their homes and cities, and what’s being done to pushback? 

On the heels of the release of the award-winning documentary, PUSH, filmmaker, Fredrik Gertten and Leilani Farha, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, have reconvened. Join the filmmaker and the advocate as they reflect on their experiences making PUSH and exchange ideas and stories about the film's central issue: the financialization of housing and its fall-out. 

For more about PUSH and to view it:  www.pushthefilm.com 

For more about Fredrik Gertten and his other films: www.wgfilm.com

For more about Leilani Farha in her new role, Global Director of The Shift: www.make-the-shift.org