Communal living space is everywhere, even in increasingly hyper-individualistic modern landscape. It takes on many forms, which share some aspects, and differ in many more. People find themselves in such spaces for various reasons: willingly and unwillingly; comfortably and not; temporarily or (as much as that is possible) permanent. Urgent questions appear together with parallels that can be drawn between them.
Coliving situations are shaped by interconnected stratifications of deeply ingrained histories, associations, materials, cultures, verticals of power. They inform the availability of space, communal and personal, and how being there makes people feel. How much agency people that live in a space have over its form. How the space is structured. Which interactions and movements it allows for, encourages, or forbids. How much upkeep it requires. How all of these things can change over time.
Our research will involve gathering experiences and stories exploring co-living situations and their interrelation with by spectrums of migration, gender, ability, health, cultural background, and others.
By gathering, sharing, and creating knowledge on how shelter and living situation influence belonging and alienation, we hope to offer an opportunity for people in different forms of community to find common grounds, build translocal solidarity, and trying/adopting practices informed by the experiences of others.
