Every April 23 is celebrated as International Book and Copyright Day. A date used to encourage reading around the world. According to recent studies, reading is necessary for vocabulary development, greater reasoning ability and intellectual growth. But at HIC we also believe that reading is a form of exchange between realities, that it can transport us to struggles similar to our own, inspire us from actions in other contexts in favor of a fairer world.
This book day our proposal of readings are linked to human rights related to habitat. We wish you a good book day!
Aquí vivió (Here she lived)
Aquí vivió is a graphic novel that exposes the problem of evictions. The plot focuses on the story of the teenager Alicia and her mother, when they have just left their middle-class home and move into a new apartment. Finding a handwritten diary of a girl who used to live in the same apartment, a dialogue between the two stories is established and leads Alicia on a quest in which she will eventually discover commitment and solidarity with others.
The novel tries to register the destruction of the middle classes that the cyclical crises of the neoliberal system necessitates, but also the new scenarios of citizen struggle that contest that narrative and confront the forced executions of evictions during this crisis, in many cases produced by the perverse logic of the real estate bubble designed by successive governments.
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
The Death and Life of Great American Cities is a 1961 book by writer and activist Jane Jacobs. The book is a critique of 1950s urban planning policy, which it holds responsible for the decline of many city neighborhoods in the United States. The book is Jacobs’ best-known and most influential work.
Accesible here
Educar para la sostenibilidad de la vida (Educating for the sustainability of life) by Yayo Herrero
Yayo Herrero claims the need and urgency, within the current situation of ecological and social crisis, of an ecofeminist education that puts life at the center, and in which individuals recognize themselves as vulnerable, interdependent and eco-dependent beings.
More information here.
Ciudades para todo@s. Por el derecho a la ciudad, propuestas y experiencias – HIC
For over thirty-five years, HIC’s approach links human rights related to habitat and dignity, along with the recognition of peoples’ claims and capacities, as well as their aspirations for freedom and solidarity.
HIC’s commitment has been to engage in the creation of the theoretical and practical framework of the right to the city. This book does so on the right to the city.
The book aims to be a source of inspiration to advance the struggle for the right of everyone to a place to live in peace and dignity, in all cities of the world.
Here we give the floor to actors who fight for the right to the city in the world, in many ways, with the same goal that another city is possible.
To download the book in Spanish, please click here.
Any other recommendations for food for thought reading on this book day?
