Why does this model appear more popular among other European countries other than the UK?
Could this model of housing every be picked up by housing developers or housing associations, and would this provide access to affordable housing?
If badly designed is there potential for co-housing to become a form of gated communities?
Are they truly 'diverse'?
Is there potential for urban retrofit project that involve co-housing?
Do the current planning and building regulations restrict co-housing in anyway?
We were given the afternoon to nail down our topics more firmly, although I felt this was a little restrictive – a few hours to do this I feel did not really produce a more developed outcome, and I feel sometimes that essays do grow and develop as you research and write them. However in this case, it definitely is important to not go too deep into some aspects, which bodes well should I decide to take this on as a thesis topic. Using a freeware mind mapping program called VUE, I put all these ideas and issues into node format and hoped that something clearer would appear. Here is a snapshot of my mind map:
I decided to ditch the retrofit idea, and after researching a little more, it would appear that there is quite a lot of information on the use of co-housing for the elderly, as well as a possible solution to the current housing shortage the UK faces. The Netherlands has around 300 co-housing projects, and around 270 of them are for the elderly. As the baby boom generation grows old and returns (and is potentially the wealthiest generation also inhibit the earth) co-housing could provide a viable solution to care and housing needs. There is an issue there with diversity, one of the key components to housing, but this issue could perhaps be overcome by combining residential housing with accessible housing? After presenting my idea, it was quite clear that once again I needed to clip down my topic, although I felt there was definitely more of a plan forming in my head. I know have to write a brief introduction and structure for the weekend – something that I definitely think will be a worthwhile exercise. I do feel however a little short changed that this task was not given to all students, as I feel they may be missing out on this opportunity and it has caused a small rift in that people are feeling that their essay topic or presentation was not up to scratch – even though I found it very hard to differentiate between the quality of almost everyones presentations. The highest plus point for me was being able to actually finalise my essay question:
I decided to ditch the retrofit idea, and after researching a little more, it would appear that there is quite a lot of information on the use of co-housing for the elderly, as well as a possible solution to the current housing shortage the UK faces. The Netherlands has around 300 co-housing projects, and around 270 of them are for the elderly. As the baby boom generation grows old and returns (and is potentially the wealthiest generation also inhibit the earth) co-housing could provide a viable solution to care and housing needs. There is an issue there with diversity, one of the key components to housing, but this issue could perhaps be overcome by combining residential housing with accessible housing? After presenting my idea, it was quite clear that once again I needed to clip down my topic, although I felt there was definitely more of a plan forming in my head. I know have to write a brief introduction and structure for the weekend – something that I definitely think will be a worthwhile exercise. I do feel however a little short changed that this task was not given to all students, as I feel they may be missing out on this opportunity and it has caused a small rift in that people are feeling that their essay topic or presentation was not up to scratch – even though I found it very hard to differentiate between the quality of almost everyones presentations. The highest plus point for me was being able to actually finalise my essay question:"Discuss how the principles of sustainable co-housing could be adapted to address the problems of an aging population and housing shortage within the UK."
Being shown around what is known on the community as 'The Croft' by Em and her family was certainly an eye-opener. She and her family have taken sustainable living to a whole new level. Whilst I doubt myself that I could live this lifestyle (or indeed question that anyone needs to), the audacity and resilience that they show is breathtaking. Their living quarters are modest at best, as are their facilities including compost toilet and cold baths with partial rainwater fill, but yet I think seeing this standard of living will make me question everything I take as home comfort a little bit more for a while. Being situated so close to the sea makes me fear a little for what happens when a storm hits or as sea levels gradually rise. Helping them collect their horse from the land was a challenge in itself – I nearly feel in a pond attempting to drag a pony away from the water, and we were all rewarded later on as one charged at me, forcing me to jump in the nearby horse manure store....
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