Matt Lesniak of Conscious Coliving debated with Gui Perdrix of Art of Co and Co-Liv on the future of Coliving and the need to evolve towards what they called Coliving 3.0 to be able to endure over time. How do they define it, and how do they see the future of coliving?
1. Coliving 1.0 and 2.0
Coliving 1.0 is a bit like the childhood of coliving. It targets a population of young working people attracted by advantages in terms of location, space or services that they wouldn’t get by living alone. Colivers are often new entrants to the job market, freelancers or nomadic workers.
Coliving 2.0 is the current evolution of coliving, which is opening up to a wider, more varied population. A slightly older population looking for housing benefits but also an enriching community life.
2. Limits of these models
If coliving doesn’t evolve further, it won’t be sustainable. Existing models have no strategy for environmental or social impact. Coliving companies are focused on national or international expansion, without taking a long-term view.
Colivers, on the other hand, see this solution more often than not as a stage in their lives, responding to occasional needs. Coliving is not a long-term lifestyle choice.
3. Coliving 3.0
Coliving 3.0 is the coliving of the future, a coliving that would break down these boundaries. Matt Lesniak imagines accessible, affordable coliving, with a strong commitment to neighborhood life. Residences would not be themed or focused on one type of population, but rather would be hybrid models: hotel/housing, multi-family/studio; short/long stay, intergenerational model… Moreover, coliving will have to be part of a sustainable development model.
Gui Perdrix agrees with the need to place social and environmental sustainability at the heart of business strategy. The built environment weighs heavily on our carbon footprint, and new generations are extremely sensitive to the impact their lives have on the planet.
Coliving 3.0 will be a long-term, accessible and inclusive lifestyle. Coliving 1.0 or 2.0 attracts a population, but to make it stay, we need to move on to coliving 3.0. Colivers need to feel at home, to be able to project themselves at different stages of their lives: single, in a couple, with family, elderly. They want to live in spaces that are sensitive not only to individual and collective well-being, but also to environmental sustainability.
4. What’s the ideal model?
Ideally, companies, developers or operators working in coliving should maximize social value (environmental, social and economic) in the design and organization of coliving. Biophilic architecture, spaces created to encourage contact and create real interaction, and measures to measure the impact on residents and the neighborhood are all elements that go in this direction. Without forgetting to integrate all the positive aspects of technology for better communication.
Coliving 3.0 is not a utopia. At the moment, there are no coliving companies that have achieved it, but some are working towards it, and could do so in a decade or so.