- how to improve your housing conditions during an economic crisis -
This paper was inspired by a research[1]
focusing on the current housing conditions in Greece and their future
prospects. The situation of housing and housing policy in Greece is almost as
much alarming as in Hungary. Not enough and deteriorating dwellings;
unaffordable housing conditions; loneliness or isolation, impoverishment; lack
of adequate strategies etc. More frequent discussions about housing and housing
policy should be a particular focus of attention, not only examining the
Hungarian situation in itself, but defining new directions by comparing Hungary
with other Western European countries with similar or more developed
circumstances. Learning more about the problems of our time and comparing them
with similar cases of the past might be even more useful than developing brand
new strategies.
Picture
1
New Lanark -
a British reaction to the horrible working
and housing conditions of the early 1880s
Picture 2
Homesgarth - an example of
community-oriented garden city planning
Picture 3
Kraftwerk1 - Heizenholz shared-flat -
a potential contemporary solution
for avoiding isolation and loneliness
Now is the time and possibility to thoroughly examine our options and
explore worldwide tendencies and potential instruments, since there is little
energy and money for physical developments. What could be the role of the state
and civil society in such case? What fields could be the targets of development
(social, cultural sector, new forms of housing) in times of money
shortage?
Cohousing and housing cooperatives are potential instruments. In Western
Europe these initiatives have been gradually coming into focus since the
similarly problematic early 1880s due to their social (healthy communities,
cohabitation), economic (non-profit, 20-30% cheaper than market real estate
prices) and cultural (community goals, diverse cultural developments)
advantages. They offer diverse forms of housing, communities become stronger,
housing cooperatives react better to changes, among other advantages. The current Hungarian housing situation is the perfect
basis of the discourse on cohousing and housing cooperatives.
Picture
4
community-oriented housing developments
of the past 200 years in accordance
with social and economic changes
In a country which is constantly learning and practicing democracy it
would be of utmost importance to the citizens to improve living conditions
through cooperation and bottom-up developments. The state, acting as a top-down
body, could support these initiatives by improving legal and economic
conditions. These initiatives (bottom-up and top-down alike) will be the most
successful if they meet and mutually support each other.
Picture
5
”Wo-wo-wonige”, Zurich –
squatting and
organized demonstrations as instruments
of the city-dwellers for self-expression
How can civil society establish improved cohousings and how can the
state support the creation and development of such cooperatives? Preparations
have to start right now, since when there will be money and “energy”, there
will be no time to prepare. Housing associations, citizens and their political
representatives have to define strategies individually and hand in hand for the
common goals of long-term and sustainable development.
In Budapest the presently founded “Community
Living - Közösségben Élni” is seeking the answer on how to initiate bottom-up
non-profit co-operatives based on common purposes with active participation of
members from the foundation to upkeep.
Community Living – Közösségben Élni
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kozossegbenelni
Zsófia Glatz
Bence Komlósi
October 05, 2013.
Zürich
Picture 1 - New Lanark – a British
reaction to the horrible working and housing conditions of the early 1880s -
http://scottishgenealogyblog.blogspot.ch/2010/09/new-lanarks-people-early-years.html,
accessed: May 04, 2013.
Picture 2 - Homesgarth, an example of
community-oriented garden city planning -
http://cashewnut.me.uk/WGCbooks/popup.php?title=Homesgarth%20quadrangle,
accessed: March 03, 2013.
Picture 3 - Heizenholz shared-flat – a
potential contemporary solution for avoiding isolation and loneliness -
http://www.kraftwerk1.ch/assets/plaene/heizenholz/Kraftwerk1_Heizenholz_Clusterwohnung.pdf
accessed: June 07, 2013.
Picture 4 - community-oriented housing
developments of the past 200 years in accordance with social and economic
changes - Roland Burgard, Standards der Zukunft – Wohnbau neu
gedacht (Springer, 2008), 23.
Picture 5 - ”Wo-wo-wonige”, Zurich – squatting and organized
demonstrations as instruments of the city-dwellers for self-expression -
http://www.wonige.ch/diashow.html accessed: October 01, 2013.
The text was published on the 18th of
June, 2013 in Hungarian.
http://hg.hu/cikkek/varos/15951-lakhatasi-teendok-penzhiany-eseten
[1] Elissavet Tamvakera - ”When the State has no more money – Looking for
qualitative affordable housing models”
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