Shared housing as a resource of community engagement

Abstract

Shared housing, defined as a housing unit where unrelated persons co-reside by using a private room and sharing common spaces, is an emerging housing option for young single person households in Seoul, Korea. As of January, 2018, about 350 shared housing units are provided in Seoul and they serve about 3,000 residents. Social enterprises are one of the main actors for providing these shared housing units, and the government subsidized shared housing units consist of 10% of total shared housing units. Shared housing is considered as a useful option for addressing housing problems of young adult generation so that governments have a plan to increase the supply of subsidized shared housing. In this context, this study explorers the housing perception of shared housing residents and their potential for community engagement. Young single person households choose to live in shared housing to reduce the housing cost burden and enjoy social relationship with housemates instead of giving up better privacy at home. Because the residents in shared housing are more likely to prefer to social factors in their housing choices, they could have a higher potential for community attachment. According to a survey with 1,000 young single person households in Seoul, residents who prefer to live in shared housing have relatively higher sense of community in terms of community sentiment and social bonding. This result imply that the shared housing could have a higher potential for community engagement. Recently, shared housing projects are initiated in several urban regeneration project sites to attract young adults in distressed neighborhoods. Utilizing residents in shared housing as a resource for community engagement, -- for instance, providing volunteer work opportunities for shared housing residents, could be a viable strategy for successful urban regeneration.