How Does Collaborative Housing Address the Issue of Social Inclusion? A French Perspective

ABSTRACT

Collaborative housing in France has reached a turning point. Following the pioneering initiatives of the self-organized groups, more and more original partnerships have recently been developed with local authorities and housing associations to promote more affordable projects, especially within the framework of social housing. But how do these projects deal with the issue of social inclusion? Does economic affordability necessarily imply social diversity and/or social inclusion of all the residents? What are the potential impacts of collaborative housing for disadvantaged groups? To answer these questions, the article is based mainly on a study carried out in 2016 in France, which explored the capacity of collaborative housing to be socially inclusive. The authors analyse different types of projects to discuss the challenge of social inclusion and the way it redefines collaborative housing, contributing at the same time to a better conceptual understanding of this phenomenon.

KEYWORDS:

• Collaborative housing
• social inclusion
• housing affordability
• social diversity
• France

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. See for example Tirana ENHR 2017, Affordable housing for all, Book of abstracts, WSH-01 “Collaborative Housing”.

2. The Fondation de France is the largest philanthropic network in France. It was created in 1969 on the initiative of André Malraux and General de Gaulle on the American model of private sponsorship. Its work is recognized as being in the public interest and it works in various domains, including education, health, culture and housing.

3. Figures provided by the Coordin’action: http://www.habitatparticipatif-france.fr/?HPFCartographie.

4. In the sense commonly used in English but rarely in French. In France, which has a system of so-called universalist values, the notion of community is controversial.

5. This structure gives people who do not have access to a bank loan the possibility of becoming tenants-associates of the SCIAPP.

6. This housing assistance association is called Habitat et Humanisme.

7. In French, an “association” is an organization constituted under the terms of the law of 1901, which defines it as “the agreement whereby two or more people pool, on a permanent basis, their knowledge or activities with an aim other than sharing profits”. In other words, it contrasts with a company.

8. Quoted from an interview with the strategic coordination director of a social housing organization in Toulouse, April 2016.

9. Quoted from an interview with 4 members of the group Abricoop in Toulouse, April 2016.

10. Quoted from an interview with a resident of Callisto project in Toulouse, April 2016.

11. In the sense of collecting prospective data, by repeating the survey protocol with the same groups and same individuals over several years.

12. Quoted from an interview with a resident of CUB project in Montreuil, December 2015.

13. Quoted from an interview with members of the project Toit Moi Nous in Lille, March 2016.

14. Quoted from an interview with members of the residents’ association “L’Espoir” in Résidence René Amand in Poitiers, March 2016.

15. Between 5 and 15 housing units (figures provided by the Coordin’action: http://www.habitatparticipatif.eu/cartographie-de-lhabitat-participatif-2017/).

16. As shown by the creation of the national network of social housing organizations for collaborative housing (réseau national des organismes HLM pour l’habitat participative) in 2015.

17. In Italy, for example, many social housing projects have been set up by foundations with very innovative design and management methods, with considerable participation of the residents and providing help to set up a real social neighbourhood project or to create services for the residents, mostly using a cooperative status (e.g. projects run by the Fondazione Housing Sociale: http://www.fhs.it).

18. These new projects are larger than the pioneering self-build projects. Between 2008 and 2016, about 15 collaborative housing operations, comprising approximately 330 units, were set up with social housing operatives (rental or right-to-buy); 50 operations have been announced for the period 2017–19, with approximately 1500 units. At the moment, these projects comprise an average of 25 units per operation, although 35 units would seem to be more desirable in terms of financial equilibrium (figures provided by the Coordin’action: http://www.habitatparticipatif-france.fr/?HPFCartographie).