It is widely recognised that the UK housing market is dysfunctional. The problems
are not limited to affordability and the mismatch between supply and demand.
Equally important are the kinds of new housing produced by the speculative
volume building model, and the communities and neighbourhoods that result.
In the real world, the quantity, quality, location, density and price of housing are
intimately bound up with how people live and relate to their neighbours and the
resources that their homes consume.
Cohousing could play a key role in solving the crisis. Cohousing usually includes
private individual or family homes, which may be owned or rented, clustered
around spaces and facilities that are collectively used. Food is often a focus, with
community food production and/or a common house for shared meals. The
communities generally have non-hierarchical structures and decision-making
processes, and are usually designed, planned and managed by the residents
