S02E12: Housing our Citizens

By 2050, we expect to have 70% of the world's population living in urban environments.

Today, more than 1 billion people reside in informal settlements with the flexibility to engage in activities that are not possible in formal, planned parts of the city.  At the same time, they have precarious security of tenure.  Affordable, adequate and viable housing is both a public good and an economic asset, and so we cannot ignore the link with finance.  Inclusionary housing may require subsidies.  But it is not just about the cost of the property.

As individuals, families and communities, our needs evolve over time.  Making safe, adequate, resource-efficient, well-located housing available is a huge opportunity.  In this episode we discuss how we can intentionally accommodate people in equitable, regenerative ways.

We discuss switching to more climate-responsive, lower emitting, durable, locally-sourced materials, energy efficiency and electrification.  As Audree Grubesic explains, modular construction (where 75% of the building of a home is done at the factory),  robotics and 3D printing reduce waste, save time, use different materials, and allow for wholesale procurement and therefore housing that is attainable.  Co-operative models enable bulk land purchases and negotiations with private developers.  In the US, commercial space is being re-purposed, though this does come at a cost.

For inclusive design, we must work with local communities and cultures - which are not necessarily homogenous or static - from the start.  As Thea Kurdi says, while over 1.3 billion people today live with some form of disability,  ‘universal design’ will ensure housing more readily caters for the different needs of everybody, even as their circumstances change.

Finally, housing does not exist in a vacuum - around it are streets, shops, transport, employment, culture, worship, healthcare, schools and other services that draw us to cities in the first place.  However, urban land and its development, says Steve Brooks, is expensive.  Densification and meeting our daily needs within walking distance are essential if we are to fit more people in the same area, and not squander space for private vehicles.  His experience with urban renewal in the challenging hilly environment of Kigali, Rwanda, is particularly fascinating!

Speakers:

• Audree Grubesic, CEO & President, Modular Sure Site
• Steve Brooks, Founder and Director of Architecture, Urban Planning Constellation
• Thea Kurdi, President, DesignABLE Environments