Hug ’cause we’re losing. This is climate change and housing crisisScientific research with an eloquent name “Living Smaller” RIFS (Research Institute for Sustainability – Hemholtz Center Potsdam) of the German Institute for Sustainability Research.
Scientists at the institute (also funded by the German government) argue that if we want to face the twin challenges of climate change and the housing crisis, we need to adopt a “voluntary reduction of living space”. Before you imagine cage houses and matchbox apartments, the researchers explain that Living Smaller isn’t exactly like that.
“What effect will living in less square footage have on neighborhoods, people’s relationships in society, or consumption experiences?”
Instead, they argue, “building smaller” will mean living in more free-breathing neighborhoods. As a counterweight to the reduction of the area suitable for each person in each household, they counter-suggest the existence of a strong community network. A network that will include sustainable communities with adequate and modern infrastructure, amenities and spaces.
The survey was also addressed to the European leaders who draw up the EU’s housing policy with specific proposals. The results are drawn from individual field surveys in five member states: Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Spain and Sweden.
Climate change and the housing crisis: Less square footage, less pollution
As RIFS director Doris Fuchs explained, the hypothesis they identified was: “Energy use in buildings and housing are major contributors to climate change. Reducing housing space per capita would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially emissions from heating. We wanted to understand under what conditions this could happen in Europe.”
Homeowners view their properties as long-term investments that confer a special social prestige
The research examines a number of questions, including: What might motivate Europeans to live in smaller spaces? What will be the effect of living in less square footage? How will it affect the neighborhood, people’s relationships in the community, or their consumption experiences? What changes in society could improve people’s well-being in smaller living spaces?
Researchers gathered feedback and data through interactive workshops with citizens and stakeholders. In addition to residents, representatives of civil society, business, political and scientific worlds, mass media also spoke.
Loss of privacy
In Europe, researchers tell us that the average living space per capita increased by 16% between 2000 and 2018. However, there are significant differences between countries: the average area per person in Latvia is 29.6 square meters. , and in Sweden it is 48.7 square meters.
“However, respondents in all countries expressed similar concerns about the reduction of living space,” says Matthias Lehner, lead author of the study.
Most complained that it would adversely affect their personal freedoms and privacy. They also talked about the “difficult” housing market. “Homeowners widely view their properties as long-term investments that confer a special social prestige,” Lehner said.
Hispanics are more positive about Living Smaller.
Spaniards have shown the greatest willingness to live in fewer square meters per person for the sake of the environment. 42% of participants from Spain responded positively to such a prospect. The Hungarians were the most reluctant, only 15%. On average, less than one in three people (29%) accept living in smaller apartments as a method of reducing carbon emissions. Less likely to consider communal living prospects, only 21%.
Hungarian participants cited negative experiences of communal living under the “Soviet regime” as an inhibiting factor.
The attraction factor is the good environment
Despite the challenges, Europeans would be willing to embrace the ‘Living Small’ trend – for example, if apartments were centrally located but in green, friendly and safe neighborhoods with access to services and leisure facilities. All this combined with shared amenities and public spaces to compensate for the reduction of private living space and improve the overall quality of life.
The researchers conclude with, among other things, the following suggestions: If the EU wants to promote the reduction of living space per capita, it should encourage the construction of smaller apartments in neighborhoods that offer a good quality of life. Measures can also be taken to facilitate more efficient use of the existing housing stock, such as dividing or combining apartments for different household sizes, promoting shared housing, and improving living conditions through renovation.
Could the “smaller living” proposal have a future in Greece?
Greece already has one of the highest percentages of the population living in cramped conditions. According to ELSTAT, almost 27% of Greek residents live in households that do not meet the standards for adequate living space, compared to the European average of 16.8%.
Statistical authorities measure the narrowness of space in terms of rooms suitable for household members. For example, if there is no room in the household where they live, the member is limited to: One room per household, one room per couple, one room per single member 18 years of age or older. Or, respectively, one room for both members under the age of 12 or one room for each member of the opposite sex between the ages of 12 and 17.
Lack of space for 40% of poor families
Almost 40% of the poor population and 41.5% of children under the age of 17 live in homes with limited space. At the same time, it is a country with Greece higher rate of excess housing burden. One in three city dwellers spends more than 40% of their income on housing costs.
In Greece, the poor and young are living Smaller whether they like it or not. It’s not about huddling together to avoid being burned by climate change and homeless because of the crisis. The researchers’ proposal can only find scope if the way we build cities changes radically. If fewer square meters of living space per person is not combined with more square meters of free space and greenery, then Living Smaller will be more of a gray nightmare than a green utopia.