In the midst of economic-rationalist dystopia, utopian thinking is all but repressed – making significant exception, of course, for the various technological fantasies enjoined by capitalism and government. But not all that long ago – 100 years or so – radical proposals for social justice seemed far less outlandish than they do today. Take the abolition of rent, for instance: the recognized principle that to be housed rent-free is a right. This notion, as reported by a qualified observer (an ethologist by training), is said to have evolved naturally in the minds of the people, and nothing will ever convince them again that the ‘rights of property’ ought to extend to houses. History appears to have judged our observer wrong. And yet, the powerful resonance of his ardent conclusion – that dwelling-houses are in no sense the property of those whom the State recognizes as their owners – is beginning to be felt in the grossly overvalued residential property market of today.
Investments in social housing, such as community housing, are unwise investments until and unless the rules of the game – Profit on the one hand, and Feather Your Nest on the other – are fundamentally revised (investment property law; inheritance law; the law of community and environmental and human rights obligations; where to begin?). Programs such as community housing merely shift, temporarily, the lines of exclusion that now must be painstakingly drawn anew, and reinforced. Sustainable housing solutions must be radical, not quick fixes and short-lived schemes that serve the interests only of the few who are lucky enough to find themselves ensconced within the small number of already inundated social housing programs. The calculation of rent as a (modest) proportion of tenant income, rather than a function of landlord profit, is certainly a step – a small one – in the right direction.
Investments in social housing, such as community housing, are unwise investments until and unless the rules of the game – Profit on the one hand, and Feather Your Nest on the other – are fundamentally revised (investment property law; inheritance law; the law of community and environmental and human rights obligations; where to begin?). Programs such as community housing merely shift, temporarily, the lines of exclusion that now must be painstakingly drawn anew, and reinforced. Sustainable housing solutions must be radical, not quick fixes and short-lived schemes that serve the interests only of the few who are lucky enough to find themselves ensconced within the small number of already inundated social housing programs. The calculation of rent as a (modest) proportion of tenant income, rather than a function of landlord profit, is certainly a step – a small one – in the right direction.