Home is Community

I used to think that home was simply a private refuge, a shelter, a base where one can operate independently, whether as an individual or household. That should also be, and feel to be, secure and safe. No one should be at risk of being harmed by an unsafe building nor an unfair landlord. To feel like home the building must also be sound and reasonably comfortable.

Unfortunately this is not the case for many people and households in Cornwall, nor the UK. It should be a basic right, but is increasingly becoming a rare luxury. This is a direct result of the fact that it is becoming "normal" for many people to have second homes, with tax-breaks and furlough schemes to help them, as if it is a basic right to have a second home, while it's a luxury to have a first home!

No wonder there is a housing crisis here. A second home is not a "home". That is the problem.

Recently I have come to realise that home is not only this independent safe space. In order to feel truly at home, it is also crucial that the base is situated within the right community for the occupier. It is not only the fabric of the building and fairness of the beaurocracy enabling that occupation. It is also the sense of belonging within the wider environment surrounding that dwelling that makes it feel like home.

I would also say that every dwelling should have usable outdoor space, in order for good mental and physical health and a true sense of connection and independence.

Finally: we do not need to build more houses. There is not a housing shortage: there are more second homes than homeless households. We are in a climate crisis, and need to restore and nourish what precious undeveloped land we have left. We need to repair existing dwellings, make them fit for use, and use them as dwellings not as hotels and investments. The solutions for the housing and environmental crises are the same. So let's get on with it!