In the face of spiralling house prices, there has for years been a lot of talk about Stockholm’s current ’housing crisis’. With a busload of new Stockholmers arriving each day it seems quite obvious that the city will eventually ”run out of” available dwellings. Having said that, something a bit more sinister could loom around the corner. Even though most people of a certain age believe house prices can only move upwards, citing supply and demand as the logical reason, the rise in prices very much mirrors the boom in cheap credit of the last decades. If the banking industry runs into trouble – and we already see ominous signs from Italy’s faltering banks and even the giant Deutsche Bank – it could be the trigger that sends the world into a new financial crisis and makes easy credit unavailable.
But this piece is not supposed to discuss any potential risks in the Stockholm housing market. Let’s just point out two simple yardsticks to measure house prices across different countries, the house price-to-income ratio and the house price-to-rent ratio, in which Sweden is third and second highest in the world respectively.
But in any case, finding an apartment, or rather an affordable apartment, in Stockholm can prove problematic. So we thought we could look at some potential solutions to the predicament. One is micro-metropolitan living, which has been discussed at conferences such as the Dwell on Design in Los Angeles, where designers showcased products, designs and ideas for living small. A continuing urbanisation might put micro dwellings in sharper focus in the future. While three percent of the world’s population lived in cities in 1800, and ten percent in 1900, a little over 50 percent do so in the present day (although that’s a highly contested figure). It’s estimated that two thirds of the people on the planet will live in cities by 2050, and if you add in population growth as well it’s plain to see that this is going to put a certain strain on our major cities.
Compared to other countries in the Western world, Swedes don’t have a very large living space, so I’m not suggesting that Swedes need to downsize significantly. The average residential floor space per capita in square metres show us that while we have more space than the British, Spanish and Italians, we have less space than the Danes, Germans and especially Americans and Australians who have twice as much. Swedes, on the other hand have almost double the space of the Chinese, even if they’re catching up fast.
There’s obviously a tipping point related to health and small apartments. And even if some cities might need to downsize the size of the dwellings in the future, we are not talking about wood-partitioned cubicles, as used by people below the poverty line in Hong Kong, but rather liveable and innovative modern architecture that, unlike existing housing, keeps pace with demographic change.
Attractive cites might have to move beyond old-fashioned ideas of what people need and look into things such as micro-units for single person households and shared housing.
Collective housing, quietly making a comeback but this time minus the hippy component, is another obvious solution. Several new housing projects in major cities are looking at smaller, optimised units of private space that come with a shared public realm.
Compared to other major cities, co-living and flatmates are a rare occurrence in Stockholm, though sharing an apartment with other people is the norm for most young people in bustling metropolitan hubs like London. In London, traditional ideologies are also being rethought and The Collective is a prime example. The largest co-living facility in the world with a current 550 beds and plans for 5,000, the Collective perceives co-living as “living somewhere with an amazing sense of community among like-minded individuals”. And it’s all about minimising spaces for maximum use.
In Stockholm there’s actually a slew of co-living initiatives. There’s Sjöfarten in Hammarby Sjöstad, Tullstugan on the other side of the canal in Norra Hammarbyhamnen and there’s the collective housing project Rio at Gärdet that opened in 1983, where the residents in the 111 apartments all came from a specific collective housing queue that existed back then. There are also more niche initiatives like Elfvinggården, a women-only housing collective in Äppelviken. And with close to 200 residents, where roughly half are kids, Södra Station at Södermalm is one of the more well-known collective housing projects.
We spoke to Anna Starbrink, one of the current residents to hear what it’s like.
“When me and my family bought a condominium, we were unaware that we also got the opportunity to join the co-housing association. Once we had lived for a while in our apartment, a neighbour asked if we were interested in joining. We agreed immediately. I have lived in other collectives in the past and I like the lifestyle where one can live one’s own independent life, but also have close contact with neighbours and co-operate to make everyday life easier and more enjoyable”.
Is it a commune? If not, what sets it apart?
There are condominiums, and all who live here are able to join the co-housing association, but it is not obligatory. There is a separate compound with a large kitchen where member teams take turns to cook on weekday evenings. There are also other activities such as yoga and parties, and occasions with different themes.
How are decisions made in the building?
The Cohousing Association has a board of directors, who make all the decisions. In between these, we have general meetings for all the members. Our cooking team leaders decide on the weekly menus. Schedules for team members are posted every week.
Did you have any reservations before you moved in? If so, how were your assumptions challenged and what are the most positive things you’ve taken away from the experience?
We did not hesitate for a second to get involved. Firstly, it is nice to get to know your neighbours better. It is reassuring for children to know so many people in the compound, both young and old. It’s like a dream for a stressed parent to be able to go to the dining room and prepare themselves for the evening, and then leave it up to the others to do the dishes. Everyday life becomes very simple and lots of time is freed up when you don’t always have to think about what to cook, go shopping, make the food, lay the table, wash the dishes and put them away. Less stress for parents also means peace and tranquillity for the children. When it is our turn to cook, we work much harder. With careful planning and good cooperation, it works out well.
How plausible is collective housing as a solution to the lack of housing in Stockholm?
I am convinced that many people would enjoy co-housing. There are lots who show interest in this way of life. Stockholm needs more places to live, and more co-housing would be good solution to the problem.
On The Drawing Board
Järntorget in collaboration with Utopia architects are planning a project called KomBo with the stated aim to combat the lack of housing. A concept designed to offer attractive co-housing. We asked Maria Söderström and Martin Arkad at Järntorget about the project.
Explain the vision behind KomBo. And how did the idea come about?
The idea came from one of our architects, Emma Jonsteg at Utopia arkitekter. The recent popularity of car pools, for example, is changing our view of what it means to own something. Also, the forms of family life are changing: Stockholm has a very high number of single households, both with and without children. By sharing a larger flat, one can have the benefits of a larger living space (with room for dinner parties etc), enjoy the company of KomBo flatmates, help each other with household tasks such as babysitting, and have lower living costs by sharing things such as electricity, water, and internet.
KomBo is markedly more design-orientated than much of the current collective accommodation in Stockholm. Are you hoping to attract a certain demographic through this aesthetic?
We believe that good design is appreciated by everyone. A well-designed house isn’t necessarily more expensive to build, but contributes to giving the house an identity that makes the tenants proud to live in it.
In a city as expensive as Stockholm with so little available housing, it seems crazy that collective accommodation isn’t already a huge hit. Why do you think alternative modes of living have so often been dismissed by the mainstream masses in the past?
The lack of available rental apartments has created a market where everything built will be rented, no matter the size or shape. The queues are so long. It simply is not the market for tenants who look for alternative modes of living
