Originally published at: London man lives in converted dumpster to put a spotlight on city's housing crisis | Boing Boing
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Probably nicer than a lot of flats offered by London’s landlords.
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Does it have a bathroom?
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well there’s the rub
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Things like this always focus on the wrong thing, though. It’s not that housing that is expensive, it’s land that is expensive and poorly allocated. The solution is not tiny houses, it is reforming land use.
I didn’t watch the entire video so forgive me if this is covered in the back somewhere, but his inexpensive “dumpster house” is sitting on someone’s land in central London. Who owns that land? How is he able to put his art project on it? There are no utilities, so which public services is he using to shower and use the bathroom? How are those services paid for and who pays for the utility connections that make those services possible?
I get pretty aggravated when housing issues are discussed in terms of boxes to store people. It’s about utilities, services, and land use, not the boxes.
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TL:DW?
No. It does not. External portaloo. No internal plumbing at all.
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I agree, but such reforms take time to implement, so if tiny houses can help alleviate the immediate problem of people not having a place to live, then we should do that too.
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The post mentions that the art project is being sponsored and hosted by Antepavillion, who are known for these sort of artistic stunts and commentary.
If you’re thinking that the name sounds familiar, then you’ve probably heard about their involvement with the planning controversies and SHARKS!, as described by CGPGrey:
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This is also the problem with those twee tiny house videos. Every time it turns out these crunchy DIY frugal go-getters are building on land belonging to parents or a wealthy friend.
Yes. Tiny home villages constructed on government land are a key part of any sensible Housing First approach. This is where the efficiencies of the build can truly kick in.
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But tiny houses have to go somewhere. Unless you’re a retired tech hipster who happens to have 50 acres in upstate wherever, the land has to be solved first regardless.
Edit: jinx to @gracchus
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Agreed, and the times I’ve seen them as a solution to homelessnesss, it’s generally been on land owned by the particular municipality or by a non-profit dedicated to housing issues. Locally, we have a landtrust non-profit that primarily works to ensure that legacy residents can stay in intown neighborhoods where costs of living is rising, but there isn’t a reason they can’t also offer housing to the homeless on land that they own.
I’m just saying that there is the immediate need, which in many places is absolutely acute and there is the long-term land-use issue you brought up, which I agree with you on.
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“The housing crisis in London inspired me to think outside the box…
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so to speak.”
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