When I think about places to live, I think first of the homeless. Imagine standing on a street corner at eight o’clock in the evening with all of your earthly belongings. It is drizzling and cold. You have no where to shelter, call your own, sleep, or feel safe. Maybe you will find a doorway or an underpass and hope that the temperature doesn’t drop and the drizzle doesn’t turn to snow. And, the most you can hope for the next evening is exactly the same predicament. Do you sense the despair the homeless must feel?
Can homelessness be eradicated? Countries with the greatest success in providing social housing and reducing homelessness consider housing a basic human right. Finland embodies this right in Article 19.4 of its constitution. Also, it has a nation-wide Housing First program that embodies the simple idea that everyone is entitled to somewhere to live without pre-conditions.
In Finland, poor credit, financial destitution, complex psychosocial issues, addiction, and / or alcoholism do not interfere with the right to a place to live. Housing first, treatment follows – the theory being that it is easier to treat someone if they are in a stable home.
There is nothing I fear more than being homeless again. I grew up in a household of fear, and have survived several forms of abuse. I have been addicted to opiates. I have been incarcerated. I have had to fight for my literal survival on a lot of different occasions. I have hitchhiked across America, and lost everyone I loved at one point. My life has had more than a fair share of frightening moments, but nothing scares me nearly as much as homelessness .
Homelessness is Only One Piece of my Puzzle (Sean LeBlanc, 2015, p. 96).
So how did Finland accomplish these results? Stay tuned but in the meantime, think first of the homeless.
I did warn you at the start of this series on Cities and Towns, there would be repetition as I try to get some order in these articles. So, to create a little interest I will insert a short vignette on different types of places to live.
Site area: Approximately 12,000 square feet
Developed: Seven social-housing dwellings clustered around a communal garden with deep soil planting and mature trees. The one and two-storey residences all have street level entry and each unit overlooks the central garden. The units are lightweight and were built using simple, affordable construction systems.
Australian architect, Anna O’Gorman, designed these units to overcome the lack of attachment of the residents in drab towers commonly associated with social housing.
Lisbon’s seven hills and waterfront make it visually spectacular. The second oldest capital in Europe, the city has energy. Busy streets and squares, full restaurants, and vibrant night life – the city pulsates. And, the population seems young. All signs of a city on the rise? Earthquake A 1755 earthquake destroyed 85% of the city […]
People living on the street have come to symbolize the global housing crisis but they are only the tip of the iceberg. While the examples of Finland and Houston demonstrate a focussed plan pursued diligently can resolve the housing situation for the chronically homeless, addressing the affordable housing problem is much more complex. Defining Affordability […]
I love to dance. This is not something new for me. I can’t remember when I didn’t like to move to the music. My first memories of watching others dance come from my childhood in Cape Breton where I would watch the adults square dance. Then, there were the step dancers who would often accompany […]
Kings Cross, once a thriving industrial and transport centre in London, was effectively closed off to the public by the end of the 20th century. Then in 1996, the decision was made to move the British terminus for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from Waterloo to St-Pancras. The landowner saw a re-development opportunity for […]
I have postulated that cities and towns evolve. That towns and villages first grow in areas where the basics to support life were plentiful. Typically, that means good agricultural land and good access to water. Other valuable considerations include safety, and resilience. The bonus – access to trade routes. Walt Disney and the Fully Formed […]
A Visit from Saint Nicholas A Poem by Jonathan Potter – December 2022 ‘Twas the first mask-free Christmas, when all through the stores The vaccinated children were spewing their spores;The shoppers were eagerly starting to riotAs the introverts longed for some quarantine quiet. The public healthcare workers were tracing the pathOf the flu and RSV, […]