Is co-living the answer to Vancouver’s housing affordability and feeling of isolation among young professionals?
1 over 4 people in Vancouver report feeling lonely more often that what they would like to. People between 24–34 years report feeling alone 3 times more than other age groups. And 34% of people report not having close friends around them.
This feeling of loneliness, contrary to what one might think, is higher in denser areas like downtown. Residents of high-rise buildings tend to know less than 2 of their neighbors names and only 40% feel they can trust them, compared to 60% rate in people who live in detached homes.
So how is it possible that living somewhere denser, people are less successful at connecting with their neighbors?
Some studies have shown that the high number of residents in one building can produce people to withdraw and avoid participation compared to small buildings or communities.
According to the UN World Urbanization Prospects, Metro Vancouver is expected to reach 3.5 million people by 2041. So how is the city going to fulfill this need?
Modern american urban planning has proven that high-rise building seem to be the most effective solution to deal with this problem. It bring a higher amount of new units to the market in the shortest period of time compared to lower density projects. At the same time, high density project helps to avoid real estate prices to keep going up sharply by bringing more supply to the market.
Taking all this factors into place one wonders if there is a solution that can provide very dense developments to Vancouver while dealing with the growing feeling of isolation that residents from high rise buildings are experiencing.
Many of us have already shared an apartment or lived in a student dorm, sharing some of the facilities with other residents like the kitchen or the dining area. It is a good compromise to pay a lower rent and it makes it easier to connect with other people around you. But what happens when people transitions from a student life to their professional life?
Corporations are in city centers and commuting is a big hustle, people want to be close to work and socialize at the same time. However based on the previous evidence modern high-rise buildings are failing to help us feel connected.
Is it possible to break a high-rise into smaller and successful vertical communities?
This the gap that co-living is trying to bridge and certainly the concept of co-living it is not new. It started in Denmark in the 1970’s as a low-rise co-housing project. In this building, 35 people had their own private residence while they were sharing the most public spaces like the kitchen, living room and the laundry room. In addition to that, they also shared the responsibilities of cooking, doing laundry, etc. Helping each other and embracing the sense of community was one of their main goals.
The model has proved to be successful in less dense areas , the cost of real estate is lower, and attempting such projects is less risky. However how do we bring this communities into busy city centers to service millennial?
High-rise buildings provide a sustainable model to develop land in city centres because of the high number of units in the building. So for a moment, lets imagine that we build a high-rise and every certain floors we introduce an amenity floor where people can go to cook, exercise, socialize or work.
X floors + amenity = Community
This would help break the building in smaller communities avoiding the feeling of withdraw we talked about before. People would be living in a succession of stacked low-rise buildings more than in a single high-rise.
Each community could have a focus on different values and interest: tech, design, sustainability, spirituality, you name it…you have it! That would bring together more diversity and create a better community. So what does co-living bring to the table?
1. Community and shared values
Co-living puts into value the benefit of sharing certain common spaces where people interacts. For that reason, one of the opportunities is to create co-living spaces that are rooted on different values and interests. For example, a co-living building can be focused around sustainability and design. People who live there will share this values making it easy to connect between their residents and benefiting from a common goal in live. It can spark also networking opportunities and enhance a feeling of belonging by being part of a community you believe in.
2. A safety net
According to a study from Porch, millennial will move once every two years, and an 82% move to new cities for job opportunities. Moving to another city or even another country is a very exciting opportunity but it forces people to build new connections, which can be very stressful.
In the case of Vancouver, a 31% of people say it is hard to make new friends and people coming from abroad experiencing cultural shock is a common issue. Co-living can provide a safety space to build social connections and build meaningful relationships that make people feel grounded outside of work when they arrive to new cities.
3. Reduced costs of living with bigger amenities
With 40% of Americans struggling to afford housing. Who doesn’t like to have a 1,000 sq.ft living and dinning and at the same time to pay a lower rent than average. The advantage of shared spaces is that it allows property managers to offer more affordable units to people because they are smaller, at the same time that residents have access to more amenities.
Other costs like WIFI are included in the rent, and apartments are normally furnished preventing people from having to spend money when they move in. Also it avoids the hassle to sell the furniture or hire a truck when they move away.
Where is co-living nowadays?
In the States there currently more than 3,000 co-living accommodations from companies like Welive, Ollie, Coomons, Quarters, X City communities and Starcity, and recent numbers show that they keep growing.
In Europe, companies like Collective and Projects offer spaces in London and Berlin respectively, and in each country are emerging small companies with a local focus building up on this model.
The world is moving towards this direction and Vancouver should embrace and become a pioneer in new housing alternatives…the debate is open!
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
