Draft:Universal basic housing/Repurpose vacant properties

If we seized vacant property from the rich, what could we do with it to create an abundance of housing for the people?

Converting office space into mixed-use residential

The oft-cited "problem" with office buildings is their shape. A home is supposed to have windows, but most of the floorspace of an office building is very far away from any window.

But this is actually a blessing in disguise. The "inner core" let's call it (the parts that are too far away from windows) can be used for common spaces and public spaces. Each floor could be something different. For example:

• Lounge and shared kitchen, for people to meet one another
• Kids' playroom
• Library and maker-space
• Gym and pool
• Laundry room
• Public bathroom (ground floor) which benefits the whole neighborhood
  • In fact, the ground floor might also have room for a public third space 💬 discussion TO DO: add FAQ: "but wouldn't that attract druggies bro?" Not if we give homeless people housing, and not if the neighborhood has an abundance of these kinds of third-spaces (instead of the status quo where troubled people all flock to the very few third-spaces available)

Other challenges to overcome:

• Plumbing & wiring (discussion needed)

Converting a house into a duplex

Challenges:

• Plumbing & wiring
• Cost of adding new walls 💬 discussion and ideally, not having to demolish old walls. Hopefully design the renovation to work with the existing interior as much as possible

Case studies needed.

Converting a house into multiple single-person units

(i.e. People living alone and independently, although maybe with a bit of shared common space as well)

Challenges:

• Plumbing & wiring 💬 discussion Is there a way to add new plumbing & wiring without having to bust open walls and expose people to lead paint or whatever? Maybe the new pipes & wires don't have to be hidden at all (different aesthetic than usual but maybe it could work)? Would that save a lot of money too, maybe like 40% of the total renovation costs? Idk maybe
• Cost of adding new walls
• If we can design a whole suite of these houses, maybe one of them could have some common rooms that are just enough to serve everyone living in the suite as a whole?

Case studies needed.

See also

• Housing (back to main page)