About housing policies and candlelight

”On winter evenings, walking through the streets of the city, I would gaze into other people’s houses through the pale orange light of home and dream of happy, peaceful families living comfortable lives.” Orhan Pamuk describes the yearning for 'home' - and makes it obvious how distant the reality can be from our dreams.

In public debate concerning housing people like to name a great number of usual suspects: insufficient availability of land, in particular for single-family houses, poor land use planning, high cost of real estate, expensive apartments in Helsinki, people having to invest too much of their income into housing, too much time spent on mobility, poor services, greedy developers, stupid architects, dismal quality of construction, lack of maintenance...

Could it be that the expectations on "housing" are too far removed from the product "house" that the "machinery" will ever be able to deliver? The whole production chain starting with investors and political decision makers and ending up with developers and construction companies can only come up with square meters and numbers of apartments. However, we keep dreaming of the security and privacy of a home, which is our castle. We miss warmth and love, caring and caressing, but get four cold walls instead. Meanwhile, housing fairs, furniture stores and illustrated magazines keep convincing us that the home is just a question of a bit more interior decoration.

Even the most perfect welfare state cannot replace the smell of freshly baked bread or the touch of a warm hand. No luxury home can repare the wounds of shattered human relationships. There are too many questions, where 'housing' is not the answer.

Here in the darkness of the Northern winter, Christmas is the festival of light, and people like to light candles. Somehow, candles represent the "pale orange light of home" and make us feel happy here and now, grateful for being alive and having friends, close and far away.

Warmest Season's Greetings, and a Happy New Year!

Quote from: Pamuk Orhan (2005) Istanbul, Memories of a City. London: Faber and Faber