Housing to 2040 - Present Voices, Future Lives: final report

6. Key Findings and Recommendations

6.1 Key Findings

A core concern for all people who participated in the exhibition workshops is the 'Environment' in relation to their housing and ways of living. The interviewee in Ullapool stated:

"It's been obvious since the Limits to Growth was published in 1973 that humanity is in real trouble. And it's not just climate change, its overpopulation, resource scarcity, ecological damage. We have to solve all of those problems and we have to do it soon"

This concern is closely followed by the challenge of maintaining people's well-being through the design of 'Healthy Places'. In Inverness the point was highlighted about the importance of community food growing.

"One of the areas we are looking at is growing our own food, and the creation in our community of an allotment site. Something that's more of a social hub as well as an area where people can grow food".

Thirdly, the people who took part in our workshops (the majority are secondary school age) were concerned about changing patterns of working and the effect of new technologies on the supply of jobs. In Dundee one workshop attendee told us:

"Passing down skills keeps up working traditions and a good work ethic goes a long way".

The young people were more concerned about finding suitable and engaging work in the workshops in categories of Towns, Rural and Island areas rather than in Cities.

The continued sustainability of island communities in the face of depopulation, particularly of younger people and the resulting ageing society was another key concern. The amount of housing in island communities used either for short term letting or as a second home were believed to have created a shortage of suitable housing particularly for young people and families. Our interviewee on the island of Bute made the following observation:

"Across the islands in Argyll, including Bute and places like Mull, Tiree, Collonsay and Islay in trying to help those islands develop a sustainable future the one issue above all others that comes out is housing".

He went on to say:

"If I can take a place like Tiree, housing for local people is not there because 40% of the housing there is owned by people as second or holiday homes…so you have young people stuck at home with their parents. So what do they do? They leave."

Most people who participated considered having a garden or access to community green space as the most important quality of a good home. In Inverness one of our workshop participants made the point:

"Maintaining green spaces as more houses are built is very important to enhance biodiversity and well-being".

This was followed by having spacious accommodation and good views from one's home. The Scottish Government's draft vision and principles for Housing to 2040 states the importance of new homes being 'well designed and of a high standard, with enough space and flexibility to allow me to live well'. Good neighbours and access to family within the community were also rate highly. One workshop participant in Ullapool said:

"It's important to be around friends and family"

Comfort at home and access to amenities within the area are also important. Key concerns of workshop participants with respect to their homes and how they live were the cost of maintaining an old home and the cost of heating their home, with energy costs continuing to increase year on year. This point was raised quite often with comments like:

"Cold and old developments have the potential for damp and are expensive to heat".

However, the majority of workshop participants expressed 'no concerns' about their home, which suggests many of the people who took part are content with where and how they live. This sense of contentment may be due to the fact that the respondents were primarily young people who are not responsible in the running and maintenance of their homes.

When asked how people would like to live in the future most people told us that they would prefer to have a say in the design and construction of their home through a custom self-build project. This was followed by a preference to have a newly built home. The Housing to 2040 draft vision and principles addresses both the requirement to build new homes that meet people's needs and to allow people more opportunity to get involved in self-build projects, making it easier for people to access advice and support and to be able to work on it themselves.

Most participants thought that their local area would certainly change by 2040 but found it more difficult to explain how that change might manifest itself. Concerns over the growing population, the requirement to be more eco-friendly in design and changing technologies were commonly seen as key generators of change in the future.

6.2 Recommendations

In relation to the development of the Scottish Government's Housing to 2040 draft vision and route map we recommend consideration being given to the following issues. The recommendations are presented in relation to the exhibition curatorial themes of Live-Build, Live-Grow, Live-Learn and Live-Share.

Live Build included the challenges of Settlement, Environment and Getting Around.

• New housing should be designed to be energy efficient and preferably 'zero-carbon'; to be built with materials obtained from sustainable sources and to be locally sourced where possible.
• Existing housing stock to be upgraded to meet a higher standard of energy efficiency than that required by the current technical standards.
• Community green space should be designed with flood prevention and water management measures. This is referred to in the Housing to 2040 draft vision and principles and was a key concern of our workshop participants, particularly in carrying out the community mapping exercise.
• The Scottish Government to explore ways to make the opportunity to take part in self-build projects accessible to more of the population.
• The potential for more electric car charging points in new housing developments should be explored.

Live Grow included the challenges of Well-Being, Healthy Places and Biodiversity.

• All homes to be built with easy access to nature; either a garden, roof gardens or access to suitable community owned green space. Even a balcony in an urban flatted development can provide opportunities for planting and food growing.
• The design and integration of healthy community green space in all new housing developments.
• The introduction of 'wild-life corridors' where possible in existing urban areas and in new housing developments to enhance biodiversity.

Live Learn included the challenges of Skills, Work and Influence.

• The opportunity exists to take a longitudinal view of Housing to 2040 by evolving this exhibition into an iterative programme of local housing events, occurring every three years up to 2040. The data gathered from such a project, effectively occurring over the course of one generation will allow for a clear understanding of the needs and desires of people of all ages in relation to the provision of housing and sustainable communities in 21st century Scotland.
• All homes in the future to be designed to allow space for 'working from home', complete with adequate technology and internet access. Community work hubs are another potential way of allowing people to remain in their communities while at work, with access to people and shared technological resources.
• Community participation to be actively encouraged in the conception and design of new housing developments and schemes of regeneration.
• Supporting the creation of local economy through community ownership, social enterprise, etc. as a way to create employment, retain population, sustain local business and enhance local community control.

Live Share included the challenges Adaptability, Community and Resources.

• New housing to be designed with more flexibility and adaptability to allow people to remain in their homes and communities as they age and encounter health and mobility issues. More adaptable housing will also remain 'fit for purpose; for a longer duration preserving valuable physical resources.
• More affordable, social and community housing to be built for young people and families in remote areas and island communities. This will help the local economies of these places to grow and will potentially counter the effects of depopulation and the resulting ageing communities.