A volunteer collective of professionals, academics, charities, citizens and international speakers are coming to the first peoples’ housing ideas exchange 2017, which will be held on 7 December from 4pm at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Geoffrey Manton Building.
The organisers are keen to welcome Mancunians to the forum. They say: “Whatever your background in any subject, if you have an interest in representing a perspective on homelessness, tenancy, affordable or social housing, design and architecture, policy and planning, have ideas for green or different forms of housing, we want you to stimulate thought and interact with a range of new approaches and people.”
The aim of the forum is to inspire and encourage new ideas around the housing crisis and it intends to cover the scope and range of these huge issues. From political activists to local frontline charities and wider debates on the range of housing issues facing Manchester, it is sure to inspire and be a passion-filled event.
The organisers are taking on the quote by Anthony Wilson, which they say is at risk of becoming a cliché, that “we are Manchester and we do things differently here”.
They ask: “How does that apply across the spectrum of what Manchester needs to do differently regarding housing its population? What do we need to do? What aren’t we doing differently?” The event will have a tight schedule and the group hopes to attract policy-makers to their peoples’ think tank.
there will be a tabletop fayre from 4pm-5pm, where around 30 local organisations have signed up for the networking and ideas sharing event in the atrium of the Geoffrey Manton building. This will be followed by five concurrent workshops, from 5pm-6:30pm, which will aim to inspire Mancunians to focus on solutions to make the changes that could improve housing in our city. These workshops are:
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GMHA tenants focus on policy change and improvement
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Architecture as design solutions for specific housing needs
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Decriminalising homelessness and looking at addiction and multiple health needs
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Manchester activists showing their squatting documentary, alongside interactive performance for ideas for legalising and improving squats
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Discussions on a holistic approach to housing and well-being
There are overseas and national guests, including Florida police department official Daniel MacDonald, who will be presenting how the US state has pioneered solutions to homelessness and addiction. Experts and lecturers will be involved in presenting and facilitating the meetings, including Rob Ralphs, an expert on homelessness, drug users and criminology, and Professor Roz Fox, who has carried out housing association research on well-being in housing.
The evening finishes with a ‘just a minute’ debate, from 7pm-8pm, in a large lecture theatre, where people can give their views in a punchy and fun game show format. The event will be followed by live music in the nearby Abbey Inn in Manchester Science Park, where participants can network and unwind further after an information-filled evening.
Key organiser Adam Prince says: “We are so lucky and grateful for the opportunity Manchester Metropolitan University has given so many people. The idea is to record this data and inspire a range of people in thinking about how this national and local problem can be solved. The currency of this event will be the ideas and passion of the attendees, as the housing crisis is something that undeniably affects us all, as witnesses to our city. A better way can often be found by people uniting to share ideas for alternatives and the awareness of the need for possibilities and change.”
