Presentation given by Cătălin Berescu, FRONTAL, UAUIM, Romania at a FEANTSA Research Conference on "Understanding Homelessness and Housing Exclusion in the New European Context", Budapest, Hungary, 2010

1. The New Roma Ghetto
and its conceptual framework
Cătălin Berescu,
FRONTAL, UAUIM
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN THE
ENHR
NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

2. Romania & Eastern Europe
Romania has the largest number of
Roma inhabitants in Europe. The
economy of transition produced a
decline in their housing condition,
leading to an acute social exclusion. The
racist attitude that forms the
background of urban decisions can be
seen today in the alarming development
of the shantytowns surrounding the
Romanian towns. The post revolution
era reversed the process that defined
the communist period – after the forced
settlement of the nomads, the gypsies
were the first to loose their jobs and to
be evicted. This leaded to the formation
of numerous micro-slums around every
Romanian City and later on to the
migration of these formation to Western
Europe. The vast majority of the
interventions aiming to improve their
housing conditions leade in fact to the
formation of new ghettos.
Mimiu – Ploiesti, FierarilorStreet
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

3. Miercurea Ciuc
str. Primăverii
Sumuleu garbage pit
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

4. Miercurea Ciuc - Sumuleu
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

5. Miercurea Ciuc - Jigodin
Embryo settlement – rural migrants from SinMartin
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

6. Miercurea Ciuc – str. Primaverii
Social housing in the vicinity of the sewage plant – neighborghood resulted from a forced evicition
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

7. Miercurea Ciuc – garbage pit
25 years, 25 people, 7 shacks in the garbage pit
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

8. Miercurea Ciuc – garbage pit
Illegal, unstable, structurally insecure, insalubrious,
unhygenic, substandard housing
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

9. The New European Roma Ghetto
 Castel Romano – Rome, Italy
Villagio della Solidarita – a settlement built by the socialist mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, 30 km away from the center, on
the highway to the seaside, to host the evicted illegal campi inhabited by Bosniac Roma in the center of Rome. Next bus
stop is 3 km away
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

10. The New European Roma Ghetto / Italy
1. Candoni; 2. Castel Romano;
2. 3. Monachina; 4. in the bush beyound the Grand Racordo Annulare
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

11. The New European Roma Ghetto / Greece
Sofades / Trikala / Volos – Greece
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

12. Migration
...any policy limited to the city level is doomed to fail. (Moritz Lennert)
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

13. The Housing Exclusion Map
Po
Ethno-Camp su ve
tan rty
bs
Non conflictual Ethnic neighbourghood d
ar d
(recent migrant areas, war poverty neighborghood ho
us
refugee camps) subsidiarity, ing
diminished ethnical dimension
mahala / banlieu
nce
D if fere ce, c
ral ity, Ra tion et
ltu nic slum
Cu Eth enta
ua l o ri
se x
extreme poverty severe poverty relative poverty
New Poverty
Ethno Park Ghetto
“Purely” ethnic areas mahala, țigănie, slum
șatră, sat, new development
zones with a strong ethnic
dimension
Residential segregation,
Exposure to improper housing conditions,
Exposure to hazard conditions (Environmental
Historical Ghetto racism),
Jewish Ghetto in Venice, Warsaw, Forced evictions, rent refusal, acces problems
Budapest, etc.
Rich black ghetto
Discrimination
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

14. Communitary homelessness
 ETHOS and the individual approach
 Slum, Ghetto, Banlieu, Mahala, Tziganie
 Campo nomadi, Travellers site
 Housing discrimination and collective rights
 Conclusions
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT

15. Thank you!
Cătălin Berescu
European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010
UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN ENHR
THE NEW EUROPEAN CONTEXT