When we talk about housing, we tend to focus on how we want to live in the future – not about how much housing we need now and that we need it fast. Most EU cities need to build 5000 houses per year to keep up with demand.
Because 80% of our cities have already been built, Kristien Ring proposes to make our cities a better place to live by using the space that is available – and making our cities denser. She gives examples from Berlin, such as the Spreefeld project, where citizens organize themselves in building groups to create housing solutions that fit their needs – solutions they couldn’t find on the regular housing market.
Read the essay by Kristien Ring: Self Made City: Strategies for Future Urban Living.