"Coliving, the new way of living together

Mixing private and communal space in one building

A young woman with her computer in a communal area where other people are on their computers.

Some will have experienced a period of sharing in their young lives, with all the associated joys but also troubles. However, the phenomenon is changing in Western Europe with "coliving", a different approach to sharing than in the past.

In this type of housing, everyone has their own room or small studio. However, the building features multiple common areas and services. Inhabitants live side by side for the duration of their stay (often several years), whether to work, study, train or whatever. It's a strategy that enables people to develop much closer ties to one another than in a traditional apartment building.

These projects are all the more interesting in the light of soaring rental prices in Europe's major metropolises. These have seen them explode, among other things, due to mass tourism and AirBnb-type approaches that have driven up rental costs. Indeed, some compare "coliving" with the tourism application. Advocates point out, however, that in these units, tenants live there much longer.

Duration: 5 minutes

Image: Tumisu from Pixabay

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