TEMPORARY LIVING

Temporary housing is not a new phenomenon, indeed humankind has been living in temporary and mobile homes for thousands of years.

In western cities temporary use as a tool is mostly applied for public programs such as cultural or public events, and not so much for domestic use. This is understandable since domestic space usually requires a sense of ownership and security that is harder to create within the ambi guous legal and time amework within which occupiers have to operate.

The most common domestic occupation is squatting. This tactic o en has a political motivation claiming the right to decent housing, and the squatters are usually young people, single adults or couples, and sometimes even small families.13

Another domestic temporarily use is when empty buildings and terrains are used for providing emergency housing for people in need. However, it is only a temporary solution. Besides, residents are put at risk of being evicted as it can occur that the occupation period suddenly comes to an end due to unforeseen issues, and they might find themselves in a situation worse than before. Therefore if the aim is to provide accommodation for vulnerable groups, it has to be done with careful consideration and planning, providing security and assurance with occupation contracts and other tools.

Furthermore, the solution for houseless people is actually not always to provide them with housing. A recent project in Brussels by the organisation Samenlevingsopbouw has an inspiring alternative approach to tackle homelessness. Solidair Mobiel Wonen is their pilot project intending to respond to the shortage of a ffordable and decent housing for homeless people. They use vacant building plots to provide temporary homes for houseless people, but they do not just wish to create places to stay but use the entire process of designing and constructing homes for building new skills and giving confidence and dignity to their future residents. The occupation period will last for around 2-4 years and will consist of 8 individual small dwellings and a communal space. Future occupants are homeless people, who are currently living in shelters and would like to take the next step to become independent, but they need a bit of help. Solidair Mobiel Wonen is a transitory stage, where participants have coaching sessions, job training, technical workshop to learn new technical skills and most importantly the become part of a supportive community. Thus at the end of the tenancy (or even before), they will be able to enter the labour market and find a permanent home. 14

Besides emergency housing, there are actually many life situations in which people with limited financial needs suddenly find themselves in need for temporary accommodation until they find a permanent place in the housing market. These situations can range om job loss, health issues, divorce or decease of a family member. Lack of rentable housing is also a problem for the 'middle-class migrants' who temporarily change their residence because of a better job or educational opportunity in another city.15 The property market does not provide homes for these groups but temporary occupation could serve as a solution.

9. Peter Bishop and Lesley Williams, The Temporary City (Oxford: Routledge, 2012).

10. Rosalyn Deutsche and Cara G. Ryan, "The Fine Art of Gentrification," October 31 (Winter 1984): 91-111, doi:10.2307/778358.

11. Tappendorf, Julie A. and Brent O. Denzin. "Turning Vacant Properties into Community Assets through Land Banking." The Urban Lawyer Vol. 43, no. 3 (Summer, 2011): 801-812. https://search-proquest-com. kuleuven.ezproxy.kuleuven.be/cview/902766703?accountid=17215.

12. Sohil Shah, "Saving Our Cities: Land Banking in Tennessee," University of Memphis Law Review 46, no. 4 (Summer 2016): 927-972

13. Alexander Vasudevan, The Autonomous City: A History of Urban Squatting (London: Verso Books, 2017),

Notes

1. “An Appalling Number of Vacant Houses,” Rassemblement Bruxellois Pour Le Droit à L’Habitat, last modified March 16, 2015, https://www.rbdhbbrow.be/spip.php?article1672.

2. Alexandre D’hoore, “Opinion | The Housing Crisis Paradox: How the Citizens of Brussels Are Reclaiming Unused Space,” The Brussels Times, last modified November 29, 2018, https://www.brusselstimes.com/ opinion/52202/the-housing-crisis-paradox-how-the-citizens-of-brussels-arereclaiming-unused-space/.

3. The regional tax on vacancy in Brussels can reach 150 euros per running meter of the ont façade - in the case of an empty building.

4. Dr Simon Parris, Temporary Use Practice, SEEDS Workpackage 3, (She ffield: South Yorkshire Forest Partnership / She ffield City Council, 2015), www.seeds-project.com.

5. Philipp Oswalt, Klaus Overmeyer, and Philipp Misselwitz, eds., Urban Catalyst: The Power of Temporary Use (Berlin: Dom Publishers, 2013).

6. Peter Bishop and Lesley Williams, The Temporary City (Oxford: Routledge, 2012).

7. Lauren Andres, “Di fferential Spaces, Power Hierarchy and Collaborative Planning: A Critique of the Role of Temporary Uses in Shaping and Making Places,” Urban Studies 50, no. 4 (March 2013), doi:10.1177/0042098012455719.

8. Philipp Oswalt, Klaus Overmeyer, and Philipp Misselwitz, eds., Urban Catalyst: The Power of Temporary Use (Berlin: Dom Publishers, 2013).

14..."Solidair Mobiel Wonen," Samenlevingsopbouw Brussel, accessed April 6, 2020, https://samenlevingsopbouwbrussel.be/wat-doen-we/ projecten/swotmobiel/.

15. Rebecca Roke, Mobitecture: Architecture on the Move (London: Phaidon Press, 2017), 11-12

Images on page 15:

(1.) BADEAU by Pool is cool, a temporary swimming pool at the by the harbour of Brussels, August, 2016.

"Badeau," Pool is cool, 2016, http://www.pooliscool.org/news/2016/9/22/ badeau-the-first-public-open-air-swimming-pool-in-brussels.

(2.) PARKFARM at the Tour & Taxis park, Brussels, 2014.

"ParckFarm T&T," visit.brussels, n.d.https://visit.brussels/pt/place/ ParckFarm-T-T.

(3.) TIERS-LIEUX ABC by Communa, temporary occupation in Anderlecht, 2019.

"Tiers-Lieux ABC," Communa, 2019, http://www.communa.be/lieux/ tiers-lieux-abc/.

(4.) THE PICNIC THE STREETS movement by the Brussels stock exchange, 2012.; Pic Nic the Street Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ PicnicTheStreet/photos/a.248370838611282/575343475914015/?type=1&the ater.

(5.) Plissaert M.F., "Squat at rue Royale 123," , 2016, https://issuu.com/ ldesiron/docs/le_droit_a_lhabitat_par_loccupation.

(6.) "place_du_jeu_de_balle_brussels_antiques_market_smarksthespots_ blog_04," S Marks The Spots, 2013, https://www.smarksthespots.com/placedu-jeu-de-balle-flea-market-brussels/.