LIVING.BRAND — HD#7
The end of residential commitment
Why sharing spaces is the way to go
Last week’s hebdomadal digest touched base on the desire of taking your home with you, wherever you go. We felt the urge to write about this topic due to multiple different reasons, but primarily, because it seems that home, nowadays, is often not really connected to a fixed city or place anymore, but rather to experiences, memories and people.
The generation of Millennials, my generation, has been characterized by plenty of different aspects and beliefs. We don’t want commitment, we want a purpose in life, we are impatient, and we value impact over money — just to name a few. Since the start of the 21st century, there have been plenty of business models and new ventures that are trying to provide answers for these changed needs and the effects of them are gigantic. In 2019, it is generally normal to share a majority of products that people would not have thought about 20 or 30 years ago. In Berlin for example, you share almost all of your transportation options such as cars (Drive Now, Car2go, Sixt Share), scooters (Coup, Emmy) bikes (Uber Jump, Mobike) or even mini e-scooters (Tier, Lime). These options are available for a premium price as you could easily afford a bike or e-scooter after using the shared versions for a couple of weeks. However, what started as a trend is now the standard and a big city life without these options is not really imaginable anymore. It is now preferred to detach yourself from things as opposed to owning them, while paying extra for the flexibility and the absence of commitment.
I am asking myself: “How did we get here?”
Growing up in families that normally developed in very similar directions (a couple is getting married, children are being born, a car is bought, a house is built, and so on), it seems interesting now that people don’t want to have those types of lives anymore and rather stay independent as long as possible. This seems to be true not only for products such as cars or bikes, but also for relationships (49% of people in Berlin live in single households) as well as locations and jobs (1 out of 2 Millennials leave a job or location every 2 years). It looks like living lives under the premise of maximum flexibility, convenience and comfort is the main importance in our world today. The rise of technology as well as the fast introduction of new products and services, which tremendously simplify our day to day, obviously play a big role in that development, but to me that just works as a catalyst. As the world moves closer together, people realize that it is not important what you own, but rather who you are. Winning in life doesn’t mean having a big mansion and 10 cars, but rather having seen different parts of the world and being connected to people all over the globe. Ownership in a world of fast pace and movement means a burden on your back. Companies understood that and you can basically travel the world now with nothing more than a smartphone and a backpack.
Flexibility is key and the quest for even simpler lives is not yet finished. When thinking about the last aspects of a single and childless existence for a 20something in the western world, there are still parts that require ownership and commitment —especially when focusing on living and housing.
In a world of maximum sharing and endless XaaS (Anything as a service) models, we are still living in the same way our parents did 50 years ago.
Space as a Service
Briefly described in last weeks article, Housing as a Service (HaaS) is a part of the logical next step in a world of collaboration and liberty. It is finally time for a Space as a Service model that provides the options of changing locations without the hassle that is normally connected to it, while also providing community that fits the needs of the inhabitants and members. Such a model would symbolize the last step in a development of holistic simplicity and it would finally provide people with the option of true freedom. Imagine you could share spaces as easily as scooters or bikes without the attachment or responsibility. Not only would you be able to move around the globe and work or live in multiple places, but you would also be able to optimize the usage of the spaces as places wouldn’t be temporarily vacant due to a prohibition of Airbnb usage or sub leases. The inter connectivity of the world would be brought to a new level, while there would be additional benefits through sharing the products in the apartments as well. Owning your own washing machine or dishwasher in your single household and using it once a week would be a scenario of the past. The end game is a flexible lifestyle within a community of like minded people that optimize their own lives in the best way possible.
Shared housing and space as a service will be as normal as taking your rental bike to the next gym class in between 2 meetings at your favourite co-working.
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