Toward a feminist housing commons? Conceptualising care-(as)-work in collaborative housing

This article, published in Housing, Theory and Society, shows that the framework of care-(as)-work is key to bringing a critical understanding of the labour, often gendered, that goes into making and maintaining “community” in collaborative housing.

With a focus on purpose-built cohousing projects in the UK, the work examines the values present in the initial phases of collective design and the ongoing negotiations and mediation that take place through social interactions, resident-led self-management, and formal and informal mutual support.

Based on in-depth intervews, focus group discussions and data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities report 'Community-led Housing and loneliness', the authors focus on how difficult emotions related to cohousing maintenance work are minimized for the good of the common and how such work is differentially embodied. The article shows that while boundaries of care in commoning are critical to residents, they are inherently blurry, performative and gendered.