From RUSS School of Community-led Housing & New Economics Foundation
-LAST FEW PLACES! – Book now on Eventbrite –
“A highly informative and inspiring community-led housing workshop… I recommend it to everyone!”– Rowan Riley, previous participant.
How to organise a community housing project is a three-night course running across Wednesday 2 May, 9 May, and 23 May
Times: 6.30pm to 9pm
Venues: New Economics Foundation, SE1 (2 and 9 May) & Levitt Bernstein, 1 Kingsland Passage, E8 (23 May)
Cost: £50 full price, £40 concessions (RUSS members, students, unwaged) for all three evenings, including light refreshments.
Course fees will go towards RUSS’s general fundraising campaign to build affordable housing in London.
Click here to make your booking
What’s the course about?
Community-led housing is a way for local communities to address their housing needs by producing their own decent and affordable homes. It is increasingly seen as a viable alternative for those whose housing needs are not met by the mainstream housing market. But how can communities and individuals access community-led housing? How do you set up and maintain a group, find land, organise finance and negotiate with local authorities?
What will be covered?
Over three evenings tutors and participants will discuss and work through exercises on key elements of community-led housing including:
- Creating a group – finding people who share your vision
- Organising – networking and building your membership
- Land – where to find it?
- Local authorities – how to work with them
- Procurement and competitive dialogue
- Finance – where is the money?
- Building a professional team
- Allocations – deciding who lives in the homes
- Co-design – designing your homes together
- Ongoing networking
Who will deliver the sessions?
The course is delivered by:
Kareem Dayes – RUSS Founder and Chair
Joe Beswick – Housing Lead, New Economics Foundation
Heather Kennedy – Organiser, New Economics Foundation
Jon Broome – Architect and RUSS’ Strategic Advisor
Chris Carthy, Local Agenda – RUSS Project Manager
Zohra Chiheb – Architect, Levitt Bernstein
RUSS is a registered charity and the course tutors and organisers are giving their time as volunteers, as RUSS is a volunteer-led organisation.
NEF are providing the space without a fee and will be offering a small number of free course places to housing activists and community organisers. Levitt Bernstein are also kindly providing their space at no charge.
About RUSS
The Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) is a volunteer-led Community Land Trust based in south London, founded in 2009 with the aim of creating sustainable neighbourhoods and genuinely affordable homes. We have a busy calendar of events led by our 700+ members and an ambitious development plan. Our mission is to reduce our communities’ dependence on fossil fuels, increase food security, encourage bio-diversity and provide affordable housing for Londoners. Read more about RUSS here: Evening Standard (May 2016), The Guardian(January 2017) and Positive News (June 2016)
About the New Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation is the UK’s only people-powered think tank. The Foundation works to build a new economy where people really take control. We are rooted outside the traditional boundaries of politics. We care most about people’s everyday experience and we will work with communities of all kinds to help them take control.
