To my knowledge, the housing projects in the US don't involve the tenants in shared ownership / membership, which is different than what I understand of the parent post.
The Netflix culture deck references Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. I submit that there is a similar level of empowerment at play regarding housing. That's one reason why many who can afford to buy a house do so even in situations where it's cheaper to rent (when factoring in maintenance). So as a recipient of government housing, feeling like you're in a giant bureaucratic housing solution where you have no control is demoralizing. Of course, there's always the argument "that's better than nothing; these people should not complain".
But I think we can do better. What if every tenant was in some way responsible for some part of the maintenance of the building? Some can garden, others can plumb or be apprentices under an electrical engineer, etc… Then there can be some pride associated with maintaining a dwelling that may be modest by worldy standards but that makes others smile and generates thankfulness.
In a larger sense, we must include the human dimension in what is fundamentally a human problem, instead of only being focused on the technicalities.
The Netflix culture deck references Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. I submit that there is a similar level of empowerment at play regarding housing. That's one reason why many who can afford to buy a house do so even in situations where it's cheaper to rent (when factoring in maintenance). So as a recipient of government housing, feeling like you're in a giant bureaucratic housing solution where you have no control is demoralizing. Of course, there's always the argument "that's better than nothing; these people should not complain".
But I think we can do better. What if every tenant was in some way responsible for some part of the maintenance of the building? Some can garden, others can plumb or be apprentices under an electrical engineer, etc… Then there can be some pride associated with maintaining a dwelling that may be modest by worldy standards but that makes others smile and generates thankfulness.
In a larger sense, we must include the human dimension in what is fundamentally a human problem, instead of only being focused on the technicalities.