My Name Is... Immie
Seriously...11 Feb 2020

My Name Is... Immie

"When I was in primary school, I remember being asked to draw our house. I drew our temporary accommodation, which back then was just an ordinary house. And I think about children living in these office blocks - what would they draw?"

When Immie was growing up, she lived in emergency and then temporary accommodation with her mum and three sisters. Temporary can be permanent for many people, but today she feels much more secure. Then one day something odd happened. She was on the bus, on the to deck, looking into the first floor of an ugly office block on the side of the busy A12 in north east London. She could see it had been converted, and there were people living up and down all seven floors. In tiny flats. Some of them were much smaller than the government's minimum space standard.

Immie wanted to know how this was possible.

We often hear that there is a national housing crisis, but don't always understand what that means. Immie, who is just 22, has made over 80 freedom of information requests to find out how many people are being temporarily housed in office blocks. She discovers that it is perfectly legal to do this - developers can bypass normal planning regulations thanks to Permitted Development Rights or PDR. She meets an architect and a council leader who both say it's wrong, though their reasons are not the same. Features interviews with architect Julia Park of Leviit Bernstein; and Joseph Ejiofor, the head of Haringey Council ... plus some dramatic location recordings too.

The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde

Episoder(484)

Conflict on Campus

Conflict on Campus

Examining how the Israel-Gaza war is affecting students here in the UK. Anwar Akhtar is a director at the Samosa Project, a media and arts charity working to create understanding across cultures. He h...

18 Jun 202429min

The Switch

The Switch

Three people from three different eras reveal what it's like to live with multiple personalities, or Dissociative Identity Disorder.A retired librarian who lived through the disorder's most controvers...

14 Jun 202428min

The Beaches

The Beaches

A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring foray, conducted behind enemy lines on the shores of Normandy. H...

7 Jun 202428min

Broken Politicians, Broken Politics

Broken Politicians, Broken Politics

Are British politicians at breaking point? In this new digital age with its high level of public scrutiny, the sheer amount of abuse, disdain and direct threat politicians get is causing their mental ...

4 Jun 202428min

Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

25th April 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of Portugal's 'Carnation Revolution', which overthrew the authoritarian dictatorship of the Estado Novo ('New State') which had governed Portugal since the ...

21 Mai 202428min

Night Train

Night Train

In literature and film, night trains are the setting for intrigue and romance, espionage and sudden death. And in real life too they’re places of possibility and the expectation of new adventures. Wri...

17 Mai 202457min

True Crime 1599

True Crime 1599

For the last decade, True Crime has become ubiquitous on television and podcasts. Yet despite its current popularity, it’s not a new phenomenon. In this programme, author Charles Nicholl take us back ...

14 Mai 202428min

Haiti - Descent Into Anarchy

Haiti - Descent Into Anarchy

With criminal gangs now controlling most of Haiti's capital and no function government, Mike Thomson explores what caused this spiralling descent to Anarchy in this predominately Christian, Caribbean ...

7 Mai 202428min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
min-barneoppdragelse
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
fladseth
alt-fortalt
frokostshowet-pa-p5
198-land-med-einar-trnquist
rss-lilli-isabelle