The idea of working collectively as a community to improve housing is by no means new in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Colonies are a remarkable example to take as inspiration, and an example of the great things that can be achieved.
There’s a talk coming up on the evening of 11 December, being put on by the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, which sounds fascinating: ‘Happy Homes: Cooperation, Community and the Edinburgh Colonies‘.
“In their 160th year, the Edinburgh ‘Colonies’ have a remarkable history and an enduring charm. In building the Colony houses the Edinburgh Cooperative Building Company Ltd. (ECBC) constructed the equivalent Scotland’s 30th largest burgh. What had taken many towns centuries to achieve, a group of Edinburgh building tradesmen completed in fifty years, building homes for over 12,000 individuals on 11 different sites.
In this talk, Richard Rodger dissects the background to colony housing, their owners, occupants and other characteristics, to reveal a new perspective on this housing type.”
Full details and tickets can be obtained from the Eventbrite page.
[NB: The image above, by an unknown artist, is taken from the ticket page, with thanks.]