Moyra Forrest: Downsizing may solve many of our housing problems

HOUSING is high on the political agenda. So, is it time for some radical rethinking of our needs and desires? We are living in times of austerity. There is a large rise in the number of single-person households.

The green belt round Edinburgh is under threat. London is considering changes from office to residential use in the city centre. Home rental instead of home purchase may again become the norm.

The two-bedroom flat, so favoured by planners and builders alike, may no longer be satisfying demand. It is interesting that in the United States, a compact, one-bedroom flat with fold-down bed is gaining attention.

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What seems certain is that many young people who would like to live in our cities cannot afford to do so, and they then face high travel costs for work and leisure. Would they favour the minimal flat, with lower rental or deposit?

There may well be lessons from student and sheltered accommodation about communal facilities, which can give extra space and quality of life to those living in micro apartments.

The gorge rose high in this throat when I read that local planners may allow breaches of the green belt to the west of Edinburgh, as new houses there would be well-served by trams. Are they forgetting the waterfront developments were predicated on excellent public transport links in the shape of these same trams? Residents in Newhaven can testify to traffic disruption from here to the city centre for tramworks that came to nought. Leith Walk development seems to have been sterilised. Would it not be wonderful to see housing built there? People could then walk to the city centre, or use our excellent buses. Local businesses would have customers on their doorstep.

It would be interesting to see in print the housing figures for Edinburgh in detail. Land allocated for housing? Actual starts on that housing? Proportion of required affordable housing actually built? Are people happy with the housing they find? Are houses laid out well? Are they adaptable? For example, my building now has a glory hole as large as one room for a rubbish collection service that no longer requires space for individual bins.

• Moyra Forrest is a librarian and book indexer.