Co-housing

A life together: The rise of cohousing, papakāinga and the ‘social mortgage’

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It’s a way of living that is often mistaken for either a ‘hippy commune’ or a boarding house, but cohousing is slowly becoming a viable solution to New Zealand’s growing housing needs. It’s also a way of fighting the isolation and loneliness that is harming our collective wellbeing. The quarter acre section is a legacy … Read more

The housing crisis could be solved by 3D printing and growing homes from seeds

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What if you could grow a house from seed or 3D print a new subdivision in a week? The housing sector is ripe for disruption – could technology be the magic bullet we need? Jo Aitken sounds like she’s pitching an episode for the next season of Black Mirror. Her ideas about the future of … Read more

In defence of co-living

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Whatever the shortcomings of corporate co-housing projects, that should not detract from the value of the community living projects people like me are pursuing, writes Elise Badger Together with my family, my sister and brother-in-law, I am currently immersed in the planning stages of a community living project. So I was intrigued to read an … Read more

When ‘co-living housing’ is just a fancy name for exploiting a crisis

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Don’t fall for the spin that presents this latest revision of a historical hostel building type as some kind of genuinely community-based housing, argues Mark Southcombe ‘Co’ is hip and cool. It’s fashionable as a prefix for all sorts of community-based and community-led, co-operative, collaborative and collective housing models. The prefix is also being co-opted … Read more

The Bulletin: Race to be Britain’s PM takes shape

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Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Race to be Britain’s next PM takes shape, OIA release raises further GJ Thompson questions, and ministers respond to farming world concerns about trees. We’ll go international this morning, for an update on the race to be Britain’s next PM. As one of the leading countries in … Read more

With NZ housing still utterly borked, some are taking matters into their own hands

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As government and business lag behind, the fledgling community-driven housing sector is pursuing alternatives to bypass an unjust system, writes Thomas Nash Is there any hope for the future of housing in New Zealand? Our tax law encourages wealthy landowners to enrich themselves through untaxed revenue (also known as capital gains). The government faces scrutiny … Read more

The Bulletin: Schoolboy rugby embroiled in player poaching fight

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Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Schoolboy rugby embroiled in player poaching fight, sea level rises expected to hit vulnerable hardest, and embattled MP Maggie Barry faces inquiry. We’re going to start with a story about rugby today. But if you’re already thinking of skipping it, I urge you to reconsider, because this … Read more