Open House

Open House

A public talking shop on housing and homelessness.

Oxford has a huge problem with housing and homelessness. It can be seen in the rising number of rough sleepers on Cornmarket or in the struggle our children have to own their first home or in our sky-rocketing rents. Whilst the impacts of an unfair housing system are clear, the solutions are not.

Open House is an initiative by the local architecture and design collective Transition by Design with support from Aspire Oxford. It’s community-led and volunteer-run and the aim is bring people together to find solutions to the housing and homelessness crisis facing Oxford.

Project coordinator Lucy Warin says: “We believe that good solutions start with great conversations. We believe that change comes from within and that finding ideas that work for everybody means including everybody in creating them.

“Luckily for us, Oxford is awash with energy and ideas on housing and homelessness. We have a raft of community projects, student campaigns, indefatigable local councillors and enlightened institutions that are all working to fight homelessness. We also have a vibrant community led housing sector, ready and willing to explore alternative approaches to providing housing for those with the most extreme need. In Open House we have a space for these ideas to meet and to become action.”

Watch this short video to find out more: