The St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at one of the inevitable results of having a lot of foreclosed properties: Squatting. MPR also recently covered the subject, discussing the circumstances that might lead people to become squatters. A lot of countries make legal provisions for squatters; this is generally not the case in the United States, where squatting is generally treated as trespassing. Interesting, Minneapolis apparently has enough of a history of squatting to have been the subject of a book, although scant details about the book are online.
St. Paul looks for squatters in foreclosed homes
Dec 29 2008 — 1:13am
7 Reader Comments
9:58 am
I think the book about squatters was actually an honors thesis that Nick Hook wrote while attending Macalester.
10:44 am
Are you sure that book is about the practice of living in a house without owning or renting?
Do you remember how there was a dude named Nick Hook who put out a magazine entirely about butts?
Personally I’ve done an extensive amount of squatting in Minneapolis despite the fact that I’ve been legally entitled to reside in every place I’ve lived here.
10:48 am
Are you saying that the Nick Hook book is about people’s derrieres?
Because that’s hilarious.
I do remember a local magazine about butts. I had forgotten it until just this moment.
10:51 am
A magazine entirely about butts?
11:39 am
It is the same Nick Hook.
http://www.citypages.com/2007-03-14/news/payola-payout
If memory serves, the honors thesis was an ethnography of Minneapolis squatters, including the colorful cast of characters who used to congregate and panhandle at the Uptown McDonalds. It should be available at the Mac library if anyone is nostalgic for late 80’s Uptown.
5:04 pm
You know, that magazine reminds me of a song. And I cannot lie.
Actually, you other brother’s can’t deny it is also a reminder of a song about ass ‘n’ some other body parts.
5:22 pm
I still can’t believe Mix-a-Lot got knighted. The bar’s so low these days.