Successful Housing Co-ops & Circular Resilient Local Economies

Join us for this fascinating and timely workshop at the Narara Ecovillage outsoide Gosford on the NSW Central Coast

Sidsel will describe her recent study tour to Europe, which focused on Copenhagen, Vienna and Zurich. Around 20% of the housing stock in each of these cities is comprised of affordable-rental housing cooperatives (which compares with Australia’s 3-4% of affordable housing). The study tour was aimed at Australian decision makers in the housing sector, with 9 participants from mutual banks, non-bank investors, community and Aboriginal housing providers, and representatives from the national peak body of coops and mutuals, along with two architects. It’s purpose was to examine funding models, tenant democratic participation and environmental/social innovation in housing models.

James will discuss research that has gone into recent submissions made by the Sustainable Research Institute to policy reviews that have been initiated by the Federal Government (National Urban Policy Review, Nature Positive, and Opportunities in the Circular Economy). In each case, these submissions have promoted place-based Circular, Regenerative, Resilient Economic (CR²E) developments in Australia. The proposed precincts would be designed to complement and interact with the regions and existing urban centres and would incorporate a range of mutually-beneficial industry, regenerative agriculture, housing, social services and circular economy initiatives. As such, they would operate like regional hubs servicing the region but would also be interconnected with one another across regions. The focus of James’s presentation will be on the economic and financial justification for these developments.