Ask movers and shakers among North American public housing activists about their thinking on the grandest scale: what’s new? The top of the pops these days is a ‘retro’ vision of ‘social housing’ that is worthy of being lived in by all classes of workers, as well as accessible to all those classes. It is big thinking from a grand view of how public housing should be rejuvenated.
What about the view from the bottom of the heap, those whose voices are seldom encouraged to give their opinions? And if offered the chance to contribute, their advice is regularly ignored. But, as more people become aware of the value of ‘lived experience’ in adjusting to a better future, those voices are worthy of a great deal more consideration.
Here is some thinking from the bottom of the heap. Of all the ‘state-level’ governments in North America, the province of New Brunswick manages one of the tiniest portfolios of truly affordable housing. That doesn’t make the thinking from tenants at the bottom of this heap any less useful.
One particular set of ‘lived experience’ brains comes up with a prescription for new public housing that affordablehousingaction.org finds to be a step above common and well-worn opinions about the need for future public housing change.
Read more at the CBC: New public housing needs to be as diverse as the people it serves, tenants say
In Zurich, Switzerland, experience of residents isn’t left the chance interviews by the public media. Residents living in housing co-operatives feed their experience of living in their home into the design of new ones. Note is also taken about the housing needs of people who are on waiting lists for housing. For example, there are not enough homes for single people. As well, there aren’t enough homes for families with many children and for multi-generational households. This information is built into the specifications for designing new buildings, creating housing that responds to changing needs. The innovative approaches in Zurich don’t need to be limited to co-operatives. Try: Assessing The Potential Of Co-operatives To Expand The Supply Of Non-Market Housing
