Common Equity Housing Limited (CEHL)’s Post

The discussion on housing is frequently reduced to a challenge of affordability or sustainable design efficiency or planning controls and processes. It's just as important, even more important, to step back and ask why are we building the types of housing we are building. Are we building it for speculative growth or to mitigate homelessness? Both frame housing in a deficit paradigm. What if we built housing to foster community? What if we built housing so kids were able to play outside with others while parents worked or cooked inside? What if sharing became part of our culture rather than an exception to the rule. What is our hostile spaces are creating hostile cultures? Does society just inform housing or can housing inform society? Can changing our housing culture change our society for the better?

Has your measure of success moved beyond footfall? For a growing community of professionals, working in the built environment is about making a difference to the lives of local people and contributing to a neighbourhood that supports their health and wellbeing. It's about doing work that you are proud to show your family and friends. It's about being a part of a positive change – connecting with a site and its people, and enabling the community to take part in an exciting journey and enjoy the transformation. It's about feeling good about the work you've done – and the work you're about to do. As Robin Wall Kimmerer writes in Braiding Sweetgrass, "How can we shape our lives in such a way that the land might be grateful for us?" You might come along to the Festival of Place to learn. You might be looking for your next job and seeking out the kind of organisation that you want to work for. You could be seeking to connect with professionals who care passionately about the future of our cities and urban places, their people and the planet – finding others is inspiring enough, right? Nobody gets it right all the time. Nobody gets it right the first time. There are many compromises on the road to completion. And huge systemic issues – it can feel like we're just nibbling at the edges. But when the professionals and the community come together, we make progress. I am inspired by the shared commitment to learn and do it better every time. Pictured below, Morwenna Hall presenting last year. The Flourishing Index is the metric that Barnet Council and Related Argent are using as their benchmark for the impact of their development on the people of Brent Cross Town, developed in association with the University of Manchester. It combines subjective measures of wellbeing and happiness with other data points that shape design and development decisions. Nick Searl of Related Argent will be joining an on-stage discussion on what to do with cars – where we put them, so that they don't impinge on a child's right to play, support our health and wellbeing and future places – and respecting that we need to put them somewhere. Searl is joined by Usman Haque plus Tim Gill plus Stephanie Edwards AA Dip ARB RIBA and me as chair. Get your passes – 4 July is coming fast. #unconference #ukhousing #esg #socialvalue #socialimpact

It was a pleasure to be asked to speak at the Live Longer Better Forum last week, to talk through Lifetime Homes/Lifetime Neighbourhoods approaches in planning and place work. Many areas, including Hampshire, are seeing their ageing population growing. It has never been more important to look at place based solutions for inclusion and the need for intergenerational approaches. Some of the key thoughts focused around the following. * Addressing outdated perceptions of older people in the built environment. * Considerations through multiple policy areas to create age friendly environments. * The co-benefits of inclusive places that are also climate resilient. * Actions, both big and small, that Local Authorities and partner organisations can take. * Greater efforts in the design and function of buildings and neighbourhoods to create responsive intergenerational communities. * Seeing this as an opportunity to enhance the living environment, rather than a challenge. Emma Lincoln Natalie Turner Peter Kraftl Jeremy Porteus Sarah Wallace https://lnkd.in/eQQ_udrC

I spend a great deal of my time specifically advocating that the community sector in Stroud District needs more attention as a whole system, if it is to deliver on the expectations everyone has for it. Wave after wave of crisis in the last 4 years has unequivocally proven how intrinsic community based practice is to our societal health and wellbeing, but availability of resource, people and infrastructure are at an all time low. This theory of change is based on research started at CS in 2018, before covid and the cost of living crisis unequivocally proved the power of community and place based support. The model says that before the sector can deliver sustainable community health and wellbeing outcomes there needs to be equitable multi-sector partnership working, and in order to do that we must build community sector strength and resilience.

What happens when communities come together to create solutions that are not only effective but beautiful? 🌍 This powerful article from YES! Magazine dives into transformative stories where design, creativity, and community-driven innovation address social challenges in profound ways. Explore: How communities are reshaping spaces and systems to reflect their values. The role of beauty and design in driving meaningful change. Inspiring examples of solutions that heal and empower. It’s a must-read for anyone passionate about blending practicality with vision to build a better future. 📖 Read more: https://hubs.li/Q0324Lh50 What’s your favorite example of a beautiful solution? Share in the comments below! 💬 #BeautifulSolutions #CommunityInnovation #SocialJustice

Our most recent SOCIAL Framework highlights ways to increase social connection through the environmental sector. One of the strategies we highlight in our framework includes promoting participatory design processes. One example we highlight is Health Action Plans, which serve as a valuable tool for affordable housing developers to incorporate health-promoting design strategies tailored to the specific needs of residents. By pairing developers with public health professionals, these plans ensure that housing projects address crucial health concerns such as air quality, social isolation, and access to community resources. In a recent collaboration with Volunteers of America, implementing a Health Action Plan led to improved air quality and enhanced communal spaces, fostering stronger social connections among residents. These changes contributed to reduced social isolation, promoting a healthier, more connected living environment. Learn more about Health Action Plans and our Built Environment in our SOCIAL Framework Report: https://lnkd.in/gQjkE6Jj Register today for our Built Environment Webinar, happening on December 10, where we dive deeper into our Built Environment and its critical role in fostering social connection: https://lnkd.in/gdb2XMiJ

While it may have been cold in Chicago for SHN's (re)BUILD conference, our Business Development Director, Michelle (Rademacher) Adeeb, says things are heating up for the Senior Living market sector in 2025 and beyond. "Creative and energetic problem-solving for the aging population was tangibly evident at this year's conference. Senior Housing News really brought the best minds in the room and I was fortunate to sit with some of the powerhouse women from the industry during our lunch. While this market may have been slower than some others in the last year, it's definitely picking up steam and the most ingenious developers already have their strategies in place on how to keep going. And we look forward to helping them!" ~ Michelle Adeeb One of the ways we do this is by sharing our own creative & intellectual insights from the design world. In the spirit of giving, you can download our most recent Thought Leadership article that looks into research-backed and wellness-focused ways to invest in a senior living community. https://lnkd.in/eTFz7FeN #design #seniorliving #activeadult #memorycare #SHN #FORUM

Really interesting article on the concept of social capital by Chief Exec of the Royal Society of the Arts and former chief economist at the BOE, Andy Haldane, in this weekend's FT. In a world that has at times never seemed more atomised and individual, it is encouraging to see recognition of the value of community (whatever your definition of it) and of social infrastructure. In the projects that I tend to work on, creating spaces that encourage social interaction is fundamental to the success of any hospitality project (the key is in the name). More specific to the projects that we specialise in, the rehabilitation and restoration of our phenomenal built heritage, facilitating and creating public access to some incredible spaces, often for the first time, further adds to their social value / capital. Whether it is the creation of dynamic venues or the conversion of redundant office space within historic buildings in Central London, charting a future for unique country houses that have lived several lives already and, increasingly, the refurbishment of exceptional and undervalued Twentieth Century heritage - all of which we are working on at present - these projects invariably become places where people meet, connect, work and socialise, building bonds and communities that may not have existed otherwise. In our recent installation at the HIX Event, we envisaged the conversion of the Business Design Centre in Islington into a hotel, designed around a civic space that embraces all of the above, becoming a transformational space which educates, entertains and sustains, and perhaps above all, creates a genuine sense of authenticity that only comes through the social interaction between visitors, residents and people who work in the building. A successful hospitality space not only facilitates but encourages this sense of connection which not only becomes the metric on which it is judged, but underpins its long term viability. Have a read (£ but also accessible on the FT App) and let me know what you think: https://lnkd.in/e7S5zK6Z

360 Degree Society combines Place-making and People approaches to support healthier cities, towns, organisations and communities.

Join us on tomorrow for our latest #webinar: Digitising Social Housing - How Local Government and Housing associations are embracing innovation. Register now: https://lnkd.in/erC7_bWp The transformation of the Social Housing and Local Government is ongoing but is digital adoption progressing as swiftly as it should be? What are professionals working across Local Government - as well as in Housing Associations - doing to embrace innovation? In our latest webinar in association with TSG, we discuss the results of recent research where we polled Housing Associations and Local Government bodies from across the UK, to find out what the sector thinks about digitising social care. Join this complimentary session – being led by an acknowledged expert in this field – Steven Osprey – who will give us a ‘first look’ at the top-line findings of this brand-new research. Register now: https://lnkd.in/erC7_bWp #SocialHousing #LocalGovernment #digitisation #survey #HousingAssociation #SocialCare #innovation