Reground reposted this
Founder & Director, Reground | 2024 Westpac Social Change Fellow | Co-founder of Circuiti - the Circular Economy Exchange | Creating a socially just circular economy
Before I left for Europe, I was invited to join a panel for the Open House event at Architectus. Reground has been working with communities living in apartment buildings for many years. We have studied the buildings and connected with the people and the system to understand how to achieve best-practice outcomes for waste management, circularity, and behavior once the building is operational. It is not simple. Social housing communities hold a special place in my heart, as, unfortunately, the system is significantly skewed against their best interests. Long term poor outcomes often result from poor design solutions. This must change. I am excited that new Homes Victoria projects are embedding social enterprises and evidence-based, people-focused pratices—like Reground and Cultivating Community Melbourne—into the very DNA of the buildings. From Regrounds perspective, we have finally reached the source. Meaningful collaboration is brewing, and while we all have to learn to work together, I am starting to see signs of a system that is evolving. My goal is that all people, regardless of socio-economic status, will live in buildings that respect and elevate them and their communities
Melbourne’s population is projected to reach 8 million by 2050; we urgently need inclusive housing strategies. As part of Open House Melbourne, we recently hosted a sold-out panel session with industry experts to discuss how the built environment can foster connected communities and support social enterprises. Moderated by Alexandra Lawlor, our own Elizabeth Seuseu was joined by fellow project collaborators: Sophie Buchanan, Rob Rees MBE DL and Ninna Katrine Larsen. The topic of affordable housing dominates many of our newsfeeds, and our audience came prepared. We talked long into the night about tried and tested strategies to facilitate a safe community. We were amazed to realise one of our audience members is a resident of our recently completed Markham Avenue estate – one of Victoria’s first social housing projects delivered under the Homes Victoria Big Build Program. He asked some really meaningful questions and gifted us with firsthand feedback on his positive lived experience. Having worked on Markham since its initial phases, Liz reflects, ‘Its great to know that all the hard work we put into community engagement and design has paid off. In our design process engaging with communities and neighbourhoods is not a tick box exercise. It was important to have a diversity of voices on our panel and the audience brought lived experience of living - and thriving - in social housing.” Thanks to our team of organisers and collaborators who joined us for the event, with special thank you to Yanie Poon who was key to getting us the opportunity to host. Learn more about our approach to building communities here: https://lnkd.in/gx_GcjBb #affordablehousing #socialhousing #housingsupply #sustainablecommunities #melbournehousing #socialenterprise Cultivating Community Melbourne, RPS, Reground
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We should chat about how social housing can build in the right systems when you’re back from overseas