ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the relationship between the project of housing and alternative models of land ownership and housing tenure. In this relationship, there is real potential for the formulation of a new design agenda placing at its centre the problem of affordable housing. Home ownership is historically linked to the process of land privatisation that started in the 16th century in early modern England with the erasure of the ancient system of communal regulations and the forms of traditional tenure. In recent years, housing cooperatives have expanded in many countries and in some, such as Switzerland, where they have profited from legislative support and access to land, have become an important player on the housing market at the national level. The chapter concludes by presenting a couple of proposals developed at Dogma as collaborative projects between architects and two alternative housing initiatives in Brussels and London.
