Page 31 - C.A.L.L. #47 - Winter 2020/2021

Living in the future

So what can we tell about possible directions of wider society from the intentional
communities of today?

Some rural communities have embraced low-impact development. For example, Rhiw Las, a
rural eco-community in west Wales, has created a sustainable settlement based on strict
ecological guidelines.

Meanwhile, urban-based communities, such as Bunker Housing Co-operative in Brighton, look
to create high-quality affordable housing for local people. Such co-operatives are based on
the principle of collective control and management of property.

They enable groups of people who might not have access to secure housing to form a legal
entity, which enables them to collectively buy and own property. They also have the capacity
to incorporate or support co-operative businesses, such as food or printing co-ops.

Urban housing co-ops are particularly relevant in areas where house prices and rents can be
prohibitively high and exclude certain groups, such as precarious workers or younger people.
Housing co-ops can offer secure housing options that also empower people and enable them
to live within their means.

The group Radical Routes (a network of radical co-ops) also suggests that when people are
freed from excessive rent payments, they are then freer to engage with their communities
and participate in social change.

Today’s urban communities capitalise on
urban cycle networks and public
transport. They are also more likely to
engage with green transport options
such as electric car pooling and on-site
work spaces to reduce travel entirely.

Fishponds Co-Build, a prospective
community on the edge of Bristol, has
created its own sustainability action Lancaster Co-Housing
plan. Together, they have outlined ways
they intend to reduce their carbon footprint through communal living.

The ideas fermented in past communities, such as straw-bale building and shared ownership,
are being developed in exciting and creative ways to transform rural and urban living. This

can incorporate new building techniques, such as PassiveHaus design in Lancaster Co-Housing,
and the development of alternative spaces, such as car-free neighbourhoods.Intentional
communities may not be the solution to all our problems, but they certainly represent an area
of experimentation in the ways we share space, shape community and provide a peek at
potential ways forward in uncertain times.

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