Art of Climbing Trees

Resources – Property / dwellings / buildings

Transition from ownership to stewardship

Having space to rest/convalesce, be, and make is a primary source of our capacity for love, power, imagination and community resilience. We must face down the fundamental assumptions that unequal access to such a need is acceptable or even sensible. Chasing rent and mortgage repayments is also time wasted that we can’t afford. Everyone has a right to debt/rent-free shelter at the very least¹³⁶.

As mentioned above, the TEQs system will instigate a more cohesive sharing informal economy for many of our activities. Redistribution of dwellings and business venues, however, may need some intervention to get us over the hump of our current belief system/psychosis. 

With our Great Egalitarian Reset/Neo-reformation/uber-jubilee, all debts and the flow of rent and mortgage repayments are wiped out. The vacuum in property owners’ incomes – (people who currently rely on rent or those managing or speculating on properties) – will be filled with the UBI. (No-one needs to panic, in other words). 

This is a project of bureaucratic reorganisation and, perhaps more significantly, as with all of these changes, adjusting our psychological landscape. For this reason, we set a one or two-year timeline, allowing time to juggle our headspace and get organised for a peaceful transition. Bureaucratically speaking, individuals currently owning multiple properties can choose which one they wish to call home/be based/steward and then formally declare their intentions. The remaining properties are released to a property exchange market, and yes, the previous owners will lose control of them. Current tenants of properties made available to this market can file their desire to stay where they are (and are given first refusal to stay) or declare their intention to move, making the property available to other prospective stewards. (Extensive properties may eventually need dividing up to meet needs and grow equality.) 

It’s true that being forced to abandon a second property (to strangers, potentially even properties that have been in a family for generations) and downgrade privileges will be somewhat traumatic and, in some cases, will be met with resistance. We are forced to confront this unpleasant dilemma in the case of a limited housing stock on the backdrop of a shared emergency and humanitarian crisis. (We could be dismissive and look at this differently: it’s no less unpleasant for tenants or even homeowners when evicted under the current system. This proposed period of transition will be the last time it needs to occur at least – as a result of a landlord’s whims/investment opportunity). 

Each transition of residences may be facilitated/arbitrated through local polycentric governance if needed. 

When the transition period is complete, the exchange market can run like an open-source estate agency minus any financial incentives. In most cases, people can manage the process themselves. Estate agents/expert surveyors, etc., could be available so prospective stewards know the state of a building before they take it on. When stewards move to a new home and vacate their property (or confirm a date for moving), the property is made available on the market. Those on a waiting list for an area will be given first refusal to secure the stewardship. For highly desirable dwellings/areas, a lottery system and/or the steward’s need (such as the number of bedrooms vs the number of children/family members/friends hoping to move in) could feature as determinants for who receives stewardship. 

One of the central ideas of the transition is to give the ‘security of home’ and support the development of enduring resilient communities. For this reason, people trying to move closer to their families or friends – the prospective stewards of a dwelling with stiff competition – could increase their chances by securing the support/votes of the neighbourhood’s settled residents. Where possible, stewardship contracts could be dealt with personally and within communities, however, we may wish to be mindful of balancing ghettoisation with diversity. (A question for a citizens’ assembly?)

Places that are resource-rich, naturally beautiful, or established with amenities will always be considered more valuable. To minimise jealousy and even conflict, neglected places will be prioritised with the resources they need to raise their standards. 

Maintenance/improvements to properties  – ideas
Improvements to properties, especially those to meet energy efficient targets in the first instance, can be sourced through the UBS budget*. Minimum standards for quality, local green space, etc., should also be set in place and resourced to this end. 

Residing stewards will be responsible for upkeep themselves. The structural integrity of properties will be maintained through the UBS budget, so stewards would, at a minimum, be obliged to report a leaky roof or subsidence, for example). I mention these nuances to strike the right balance between ensuring resource-rich/high-value UE assets are maintained while prioritising the freedom of residing stewards. 

Outside of exceptional circumstances, the protocol may be to find replacement stewards for your property before leaving. If stewards have neglected their property, it may be harder to find a replacement. This mechanism can also incentivise stewards, individually or working together, to improve their wider neighbourhood. 

For consideration: Each area will be charged with improving its green spaces and biodiversity. Community members could volunteer for the task and/or apply to receive a dedicated live-in biodiversity officer. 

Each neighbourhood should consider accommodating transient stewards such as university students, travellers, carers, etc. (‘Wanderer’s homes’²⁶⁶). I recommend inviting an element of transience to a community for its invigoration. 

(For land use, see ‘The oceans and the land’ below)

Please try using the (efficient) ‘Six Thinking Hats’ method of parallel thinking for sharing your ideas.
It helps us to organise our thoughts and feelings. Wear the Black Hat for critisism/doubts; the Green hat for creative suggestions; the Yellow for positive responses, Red for gut feelings; White for information. I am wearing the Blue Hat now, when I say we are here to design Eutopia.

Simply write ‘Black’, ‘Yellow’, ‘Green’, etc, before your given response. Then, start a new paragraph for ideas of a different coloured hat.