A sprinkling of encouraging notes from several countries might signal a sea change in the treatment of public/social housing tenants. The trend continues for fixing up more of the housing and pulling less of it down (or at least, pulling some public housing down but building more).
Also positive: public relations folks and spin doctors for governments, non-profits and free market developers are generating press releases to let the general population know that the social housing tenants themselves have been actively consulted in the new plans.
Encouraging, yes. Tenant are indeed being given a chance to speak. But is anyone actually listening?
How to speak and make an impact with one or more levels of government? And let’s not forget worldly-wise housing authorities that are, as usual, being squeezed by all sides. And of course there are the hotshot developers who know all about the logistical nightmares of building vast quantities of housing?
It’s clear that tenants need one or more spokespersons who are able to speak truth to power without giving offence, while still retaining the respect of all parties in a complex enterprise.
This is not a skill set that blesses all of us, to say the least.
What follows is an article about reimagining/rebuilding an existing public housing project in Charlottesville, Virginia: Friendship Court. The emphasis of the article is on the victory of piecing together public housing money with “green” development money to fully fund a project and guarantee its path to success.
But this is a local story being duplicated all over the world on a daily basis. Tireless advocates, business people and governments come together to finally kick start another affordable housing project (alas, far too few of them to stem rising tides of unaffordable housing.)
What is more intriguing about this project is the role played by a tenant advocate, Myrtle Houchens. Fifteen years ago, she moved out of Friendship Court, and yet she is credited with having an outsized impact on it success.
Read more about plans for Friendship Court, and the role of Myrtle Houchens in the Energy News Network : Greenhouse gas pact helps fund green reinvention of Virginia public housing
