NABIL AL-KINANI
URBANIST & BUILT ENVIRONMENT PROFESSIONAL


“… The process of renewal and rebuilding, accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.”
— Furious Styles, Boyz n the Hood (1991)

Better known as, gentrification. These past couple decades have seen the UK's cityscapes changing at an increasingly rapid rate. The Ends (social housing estates) are being replaced with glossy gated-communities, complete with futuristic living facilities, logos and colour palettes to market a glamourous ‘inner-city living’ lifestyle experience— at the expense of the Mandem.

So, how do we preserve the Ends?
The answer: we privatise the Mandem.

And how do we ‘privatise the Mandem’?
The answer: we buy the Block.

To privatise is to own the Ends, to run the Hood, and to control the Block. Nobody can buy the Ends, if it ain’t for sale. Nobody can sell the Ends, if they own it no more.

Privatising the Mandem affords us the freedom to be self-determining, the freedom to be self-sufficient, the freedom to be autonomous and sovereign, the freedom to restructure our environments, the freedom to imagine and dream — and most importantly, the freedom to make mistakes and to learn from them.

In short: we are able to free the Mandem.

To find out how, get your copy of Privatise the Mandem and To Free the Ends below.
And be sure to hit up the privatisation line with any of your questions: +447554658435

Visit the socials: @privatisethemandem


Privatise the Mandem (Paperback)

Privatise the Mandem is a manifesto and blueprint detailing how members of our inner-city communities can acquire the freehold of their buildings through legislative tools such as ‘Collective Enfranchisement’ and the ‘Right-to-Buy/Acquire‘. The work argues the necessity of collective ownership of the ends as well as detailing the consequences of delivering on the vision.

Digital Copy: Available to read for free

Available here

Physical  Copy: Please allow for 7 to 10 days for dispatch.


Thugz Mansion (Card Deck)

This is a tool to help the Mandem realise the future of the Ends, should it come under the collective ownership of the Mandem. It includes over 70 questions for the Mandem to understand how to better run the Block, and to imagine the future of their Ends.

Using the cards is simple. Draw a card at random and ask yourself the question that pops-up. Share the question with the Mandem, and discuss your responses.

Physical  Copy: Please allow for 8 to 14 days for dispatch.



To Free the Ends (Paperback)


To Free the Ends dives deep into the potential of privatising the Mandem — exploring what would happen if we bought the block and built a future shaped by our hands, for our people.

This book outlines the mindset needed to reclaim control and run the Block effectively, detailing the political and economic power that would be inherited when we become lords of our land. It presents a practical blueprint for preserving culture, resisting gentrification, and building a thriving future where the Mandem can transform the Ends into vibrant, autonomous spaces that serve their needs.

Digital Copy: Available to read for free

Available here

Physical  Copy: Please allow for 7 to 10 days for dispatch.




Press Coverage

“Privatise the Mandem is the blueprint to fighting inner-city gentrification”, The Face (2022) — https://theface.com/society/privatise-the-mandem-nabil-al-kinani-inner-city-gentridication-council-affordable-housing-politics-london-how-to-stop-gentrification

“How to fight gentrification in the ends? Privatise the Mandem”, Gal-Dem (2022) — https://gal-dem.com/how-to-fight-gentrification-in-the-ends-privatise-the-mandem/

“Speculative Futures”, Dazed & Confused (Autumn, 2022)

“On the Question of Privatising the Mandem”, Port Magazine (Issue 31, 2022)— https://www.port-magazine.com/commentary/on-the-question-of-privatising-the-mandem/

“Wellness in Social Housing Communities”, Sista Zine (Issue 3, 2022)

“Do we need to be more self-reliant?”, BBC 1Xtra Talks with Richie Brave (2022) — https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017twq

“Speak It, Live It Feat. Nabil Al-Kinani”, The Day After Podcast (2023) —  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usgiYuxUIoE&t=5846s

“Privatise the Mandem”, The Domino Effect Podcast (2023) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUPyU5Booy4&list=PLXHQRI58xXAwEWdCe5m9VKLrvGuoAe70X&index=7&ab_channel=TheDominoEffectPodcast

“Privatise the Mandem”, Paper Trails Podcast (2024) — https://open.spotify.com/episode/3d2KbC2PktNKzNkm1Enb7P?si=SSUhxfGISvGB2I0eVGCMCQ

“To create tomorrow, we have to start dreaming today”, Dazed & Confused (Autumn, 2024)

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InstagramMore ABOUTBy day, Nabil Al-Kinani is a built-environment professional with a keen interest in urbanism, placemaking, sustainable development and place vision. By night, he is a writer and cultural producer that uses creative practice to deliver works that draw focus on the relationship between spaces and stories. Other strands of his work includes the exploration of spatial politics, identity, culture and migration.