Addressing Housing Shortage
I daily hear reports of a shortage of houses and apartments in the United States. It is my understanding that there is a shortage of land in many places as well as a shortage of material and qualified construction workers. We also have an acute need to change our relationship with mother nature (the environment we have named earth). None of these factors are going to fade away without a corresponding cost. Given our attachment in the United States to nuclear family homes there is no easy solution. In some areas, tiny homes may be a partial solution, but they still require land, individual utilities, material to build and maintain, furniture, appliances, and other equipment and clothes which get limited use.
I live in a one-bedroom condo which is the smallest space I have occupied for many years; my current condo serves as an office and a home. All my work with clients is currently remote unless I am traveling to see them in other cities. I could not easily have my office in this space if I shared the space with another person.
In this condo space, closets, kitchen cabinets and floor space are all filled with my clothes, dishes, books and other possessions. Appliances are reserved for my private use on my schedule
In times past I have lived in intentional communities or shared housing. We shared space, utilities, artwork, dishes, appliances, other kitchen equipment and closet space. We also shared cooking, cleaning and other tasks. These intentional communities had 5 to seven people - seven was also the size of the nuclear family in which I grew up. I also studied, visited and stayed for brief times at much larger intentional communities including the Bruderhof in New York and Twin Oaks in Virginia. There are hundreds of such communities in the United States which are often organized around religious or philosophical beliefs. Some have some shared housing within the community, and some have co-housing. They may manufacture a product to support the community or individuals may have jobs outside of the community. All share some of the equipment needed to maintain common and private spaces. This may include laundry facilities, kitchens, lawn maintenance tools and equipment or farm equipment. Frequently child rearing is also shared. There are some co-housing communities with nuclear family style housing and some shared equipment. Some co-housing communities are designed to be affordable to a wide range of individual. Others such as one in Tulsa, Oklahoma are designed for those who can afford private home beginning at around $300,000.00.
In addition to many intentional communities having a friendlier relationship with Mother Earth and being more affordable than nuclear family style housing they provide emotional and physical support. Results of many recent studies in the United States suggests that loneliness is one of the chief concerns or conditions of a significant percentage of the population. Intentional communities, in most cases, ensure that there is always emotional and, if needed, physical support. This does not mean that there is no discord or stress. We humans beings can easily get on each other’s last nerve. We may get jealous, feel less then, or have other emotional “dis eases”. We can feel as if we are doing more than our share of the work or are not appreciated for the work we do.
If individual community member are working in jobs outside the community some may be receiving a much greater income than others. A way must be found to share expenses which feels fair. In one of the communities in which I lived we all contributed the same percentage of our income for common expenses. The dollar amount each contributed varied significantly, but all felt it was a fair arrangement. In some communities some ‘scut” work gets more credit than other work. In one community work which one enjoyed got fewer credits than work one disliked. In all communities there had to be agreement on how to care for those who become mentally ill or physically disabled. There also has to be agreements about how to handle disagreements. Intentional community living does not create emotional eunuchs. We humans bring all of our humanness with us - positive and negative.
We must continue to explore ways to live together which respect Mother Nature and our need to care for and be cared for. Our current focus on nuclear family housing which is inefficient and wasteful is not meeting the needs of a large group of individuals. For the health of each other and mother earth it is imperative we continue to explore more realistic, environmentally friendly, affordable, emotionally satisfying options.
Written November 8, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
I daily hear reports of a shortage of houses and apartments in the United States. It is my understanding that there is a shortage of land in many places as well as a shortage of material and qualified construction workers. We also have an acute need to change our relationship with mother nature (the environment we have named earth). None of these factors are going to fade away without a corresponding cost. Given our attachment in the United States to nuclear family homes there is no easy solution. In some areas, tiny homes may be a partial solution, but they still require land, individual utilities, material to build and maintain, furniture, appliances, and other equipment and clothes which get limited use.
I live in a one-bedroom condo which is the smallest space I have occupied for many years; my current condo serves as an office and a home. All my work with clients is currently remote unless I am traveling to see them in other cities. I could not easily have my office in this space if I shared the space with another person.
In this condo space, closets, kitchen cabinets and floor space are all filled with my clothes, dishes, books and other possessions. Appliances are reserved for my private use on my schedule
In times past I have lived in intentional communities or shared housing. We shared space, utilities, artwork, dishes, appliances, other kitchen equipment and closet space. We also shared cooking, cleaning and other tasks. These intentional communities had 5 to seven people - seven was also the size of the nuclear family in which I grew up. I also studied, visited and stayed for brief times at much larger intentional communities including the Bruderhof in New York and Twin Oaks in Virginia. There are hundreds of such communities in the United States which are often organized around religious or philosophical beliefs. Some have some shared housing within the community, and some have co-housing. They may manufacture a product to support the community or individuals may have jobs outside of the community. All share some of the equipment needed to maintain common and private spaces. This may include laundry facilities, kitchens, lawn maintenance tools and equipment or farm equipment. Frequently child rearing is also shared. There are some co-housing communities with nuclear family style housing and some shared equipment. Some co-housing communities are designed to be affordable to a wide range of individual. Others such as one in Tulsa, Oklahoma are designed for those who can afford private home beginning at around $300,000.00.
In addition to many intentional communities having a friendlier relationship with Mother Earth and being more affordable than nuclear family style housing they provide emotional and physical support. Results of many recent studies in the United States suggests that loneliness is one of the chief concerns or conditions of a significant percentage of the population. Intentional communities, in most cases, ensure that there is always emotional and, if needed, physical support. This does not mean that there is no discord or stress. We humans beings can easily get on each other’s last nerve. We may get jealous, feel less then, or have other emotional “dis eases”. We can feel as if we are doing more than our share of the work or are not appreciated for the work we do.
If individual community member are working in jobs outside the community some may be receiving a much greater income than others. A way must be found to share expenses which feels fair. In one of the communities in which I lived we all contributed the same percentage of our income for common expenses. The dollar amount each contributed varied significantly, but all felt it was a fair arrangement. In some communities some ‘scut” work gets more credit than other work. In one community work which one enjoyed got fewer credits than work one disliked. In all communities there had to be agreement on how to care for those who become mentally ill or physically disabled. There also has to be agreements about how to handle disagreements. Intentional community living does not create emotional eunuchs. We humans bring all of our humanness with us - positive and negative.
We must continue to explore ways to live together which respect Mother Nature and our need to care for and be cared for. Our current focus on nuclear family housing which is inefficient and wasteful is not meeting the needs of a large group of individuals. For the health of each other and mother earth it is imperative we continue to explore more realistic, environmentally friendly, affordable, emotionally satisfying options.
Written November 8, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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