House in a skip: even tiny homes can’t address the privilege and insecurity of the housing market

Marshall has explained that converting a skip was the only way he could afford to live in London. Skip House reportedly cost £4,000 to build, and he pays £50 per month to an arts charity in rental fees for the land.

He has a portaloo onsite, but no running water, so showers at the gym or at work. This is not many people’s idea of luxury, but it is a creative solution.

Many see the idea of a tiny house as a counter-cultural statement against consumerism and the housing market – and the culture of overwork required to finance these two things. Tiny houses can act as a beacon highlighting a simpler, more sustainable way of life.

Marshall’s ability to find and come to an agreement with the arts charity that owns the land he is renting is made possible, in part, by what sociologists term his “social and cultural capital”, as a white, educated, man.

The tiny house movement embodies a complex mixture of counter-cultural ideals, economic pragmatism and the entrenched sheltering of privilege. They are not a fix-all, but neither should they be dismissed out of hand.

https://theconversation.com/house-in-a-skip-even-tiny-homes-cant-address-the-privilege-and-insecurity-of-the-housing-market-203274?utm_medium=email

#TinyHomes #housing #social #culture #consumerism #CapitalismFails #CounterCultural #coop

House in a skip: even tiny homes can’t address the privilege and insecurity of the housing market

The tiny house movement embodies a complex mixture of counter-cultural ideals, financial pragmatism and socio-economic privilege.

Living in a van down by the river during global quarantine

Coronavirus hits vanlifers, as well as digital nomads and tiny-homers.

I'd been following the alternate lifestyle trend for some years. A review of YouTube shows many plans and lifestyles are being disrupted. Generally:

• Self-quarantine when your home is a van or tiny home means being confined to a very small space. The more so with partners, pets, or children.
• Limited storage -- for food, water (fresh, grey, black), fuel, clothes, laundry, gear -- means limited options.
• Services relied on, including shops, cafes, restaurants, laundries, gyms (frequently the preferred bathing option), and campgrounds, make life all the more uncertain.
• Alternatives including hotels are also often unavailable.
• There remain bills to pay, particularly telecoms, mobile data, fuel, food, campground fees, insurance, and taxes.
• Restrictions on casual camping are increasing, around the world.
• Supply-chain disruptions hit vanlifers too, and outlying areas my be harder hit / slower to resupply.
• Venturing from campsites either by vehicle or by foot is often restricted.
• Vehicle-repair issues become more pressing than even usual -- it's your car and your house.
• Expats are especially impacted, whether Americans in South America (as here), EU nationals within Europe, or abroad. Vans and boats are being abandoned or placed in storage. Travel regulations and limits (visa terms and length) emerge.
• Standard travel options, including bus, rail, air, and ship, are also in turmoil.
• The situation is evolving rapidly. Watching successive episodes of a given channel as awareness dawns or plans change is illuminating. Sometimes even a single episode.
• Vanlifers, generally already living Plan B, are rapidly cycling through successive plans C, D, E, etc.

There are a wealth of examples, with YouTube's suggestion engine the linked vid should be an entry point, though searching vanlife (covid|coronavirus|pandemic) should turn up more.

#VanLife #TinyHomes #covid19