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Speaker: Storm Poorun Organisation: Green Party Website: Green Party The Current State of Alternative Housing (AH): Is it viable to take Alternative Housing to the mainstream? To make it accessible and a viable option? “Joe Bloggs can say: this is something I can get involved with, even just know about it.” Alternative Housing is general y set-up by those from a middle-class background/ alternative upbringing. There are organisations out there trying to make it accessible (ie Advisory Service for Squatters (ASS), Chapter 7, Co-operative Development Services (CDS), Eco-Villages Network, Radical Routes, Catalyst). Even so, AH forms are not widely advertised to the general public; in a national context, there is a scarcity of AH forms, lack of provisions for AH in national policies and planning, no government backing for AH. The Obstacles to AH: Three major areas of concern: Planning issues (especially rural) Awareness/ Perceptions of AH by the general public. Do they know that there know that there are other ways to manage/ own housing; people (esp. low income) just fall into their housing situation. Are there the skills and resources available, especially to the low income sector (skills of management/ maintenance/ accounting, resources of finance, land, property)? In modern society there is a cultural shift away from land-based lifestyles towards urbanisation; desires of individualism (perpetuated by the Thatcher years) have become widespread, but we need to show people that we benefit from collective action. In AH, there is conflict in beliefs, backgrounds and lifestyles and therefore there needs to be some social cohesion/ common belief in the group. The more co-ops there are, the more breadth and diversity of groups to live in. If co-ops/AH were a mainstream option/ “the norm”, there is the risk that: AH would become institutionalised (eg another Housing Association) Commercialised There would be a loss of values that go with AH (eg mutual aid, its underpinning principles) A Greater Vehicle: There should be a greater vehicle (apart from the existing agencies) to promote AH to a wider audience. There is a viewpoint in the AH movement that co-ops should arise from the ground up/ collectively; the group should have initiative to start or one loses the underpinning principles (eg self-help). I don’t agree entirely. From an ecological point of view, implementing schemes/ co-ops through a wider vehicle should be considered financial leverage to get things moving/ help establish. This agency should train/ spoon-feed new co-ops/ land trusts/ alternative land ownership. Is this idea too institutional/ high handed? The vehicle would not be democratic but made up of stakeholders; more strategic, as democracy has its failings and to pretend something is democratic is worse. A A Trust is a good/ better model for certain types of activity, including acquiring land. There have not been many co-ops set up recently; maybe due to the economic threshold (too expensive). Conclusion: People’s jobs/ lives/ consumerism is tied to their housing costs/ situation (people trapped in their jobs due to high mortgage repayments); therefore there is an opportunity to sell people an alternative means of living, without the financial stress due to housing/ roof over ones head.	AUDIO 1 AUDIO 2
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