How do you solve a complex problem such as ‘affordable housing’?

Stratification of society comes in several modes or formats. Some are manufactured e.g. we get an average joe on television and begin calling them “celebrities” and soon they have millions of followers and their jokes are funnier, their tweets more impactful etc. Nothing new and all that’s fine. It is what it is.

But when it comes to housing and the stigma that comes with homelessness, there are major issues at play, that needs to be addressed. It is not just about building affordable homes. In the UK, we experimented with legislation mandating developers of new housing to provide a number of affordable housing on each project they develop, to avoid over-concentration of so-called affordable housing in certain locations leading ultimately to future deprivation and stigma. So, imagine a development in which you have 100 buildings, each at a selling price of £5m and then you have 5 of them completed with cheaper finishing/spec and sold for £200k each as “affordable” housing. What ensues? There was an incident that made the news headlines a couple of years ago, at one of such developments, the £5m homes had access to the playgrounds and other facilities, while the affordable homes had a locked gate blocking them off and their children could only watch the kid s from the £5m houses side of the development playing away in the playground. Society condemned the developer, but he explained that upkeep of the play facility was at a cost of an annual fee of £1000 paid each year by those that bought the £5m each homes. HOW DO YOU SOLVE SUCH A COMPLEX PROBLEM?

It is easy to rush to judgment and condemn the developer, but is that not a representation of the problem of human society? If you build a group of affordable housing in a cluster, stigma is attached and inhabitants are treated differently and labelled, with those areas receiving poor services and the kids born there immediately labelled and subjected to an early sense of hopelessness and many become intolerant and feed right into the conveyor belt of exploitation and manipulation. But the attempt to integrate affordable housing into affluent areas or neighbourhoods can only work if those in those affordable homes are not left to stick out like a sore thumb – now, how do you do that? they are already in cheaper versions of posh homes, on the side watching their kids barred from playgrounds they can’t afford to pay £1000 a year to maintain, living in close proximity to those driving better cars, eating healthily etc, can either motivate you or turn you bitter. The latter appears to be the more prevalent outcome and to date, each and every solution put forward has not been successful.

It is clear that in order to improve society, you have to tackle problems at the root-cause. Hand £1m to a rich man or woman and chances are, they will soon turn it into £10m as they have the network, access, connections etc. Hand the same amount to a poor man or woman and chances are, they will end up penniless in a few years and not necessarily because they blew it on ferraris or expensive holidays, but mainly because they wouldn’t have the wherewithal to sustain that new found wealth. It is a vicious cycle and a very complex societal problem that is being tackled in a disjointed manner that leaves the poor where they are and more resentful than ever, leading to the massive growth of intolerance, hate and populism that is currently threatening all aspects of life. But this plays right into the hands of those seeking to manipulate and exploit divisiveness as a potent tool to grow a loyal base, United by intolerance that has grown out of a sense of being left behind by society in “affordable housing” dotted across the world. We can end this helplessness and end hate and intolerance through the creation of jobs, levelling up of society, creating hope. The only question is: are we prepared to lose the advantages derived from keeping large portions of society poor? poor and hungry people are easier to control and manipulate right? Those with full bellies talk about fixing climate issues and carbon emissions, while the poor and hungry worry about immigration and those manipulating them use those topics to whip them into a frenzy – to get their votes. In conclusion, we have the means to end poverty and divisiveness in our society but we choose not to.

We want to build affordable homes instead of levelling up society so that everyone can afford a home as opposed to living in affordable houses and remaining in a vicious cycle…..