Colloquia

Summary

Since 2015, the housing situation in the Netherlands has developed into a full housing crisis, with an estimated need of around 100,000 new houses per year. In Eindhoven alone, approximately 93,000 houses are expected to be built between 2020 and 2050. While people will live more closely together, society is also becoming more individualistic, impacting the social cohesion. Trudo, a social housing corporation in Eindhoven, sees social cohesion as an integral part of liveability and therefore invests in communities.

This thesis explores how residents (CM) can be supported in taking continuous responsibility for their living environment independently, using the Trudo Tower community as a case study. By combining a Systems Thinking and Participatory Design, it is investigated how the community functions and how CMs experience living there. Interviews and observations were used to develop a system map and identify system archetypes and underlying mental models. A co-creation session with CMs provided further insight into their wants and needs.

The findings showed that ‘taking responsibility’ was not an appropriate framing for the project. As a result, it was reframed from responsibility for the living environment to creating opportunities for meaningful engagement. Based on this reframing, five concepts were developed and evaluated, after which two concepts were combined and further refined.

This resulted in the final concept: a calendar called Thuis-in-de-Toren (Home-in-the-Tower). The calendar guides new CMs during their moving-in period and creates a set-up for future engagement. It provides information and facts, encouragements for engagement, reflective moments and prompts for exploration. The calendar can be integrated into Trudo’s existing processes without adding extra workload for employees.

Evaluation showed that the calendar was perceived as visually attractive, relevant and a valuable addition to the moving-in process for both residents and Trudo. Implementation was considered feasible, and broader applicability beyond the Tower was recognised.

This thesis concludes that responsibility within the community cannot be ‘solved’ through a single intervention but emerges when conditions are created that allow CMs to engage in ways aligned with their own interests, wants and needs. It frames responsibility as an interpretation of a situation, calling for a reframing that fits with the perspective of the CMs. The thesis process demonstrates how a participatory systemic design approach can lead to an intervention that supports both housing corporations as well as their residents to cultivate change.