Innovation is the way to solve city housing crisis (From The Oxford Times)

Innovation is the way to solve city housing crisis

9:00am Saturday 15th September 2012 in News

FOR years, the great and the good of Oxford have been bemoaning the problem of sky high rents and a lack of space for new homes.

But we have seen little innovation in tackling the issue.

So could “pod living” be the refreshing solution to our woes?

On the face of it, they certainly seem to offer advantages.

The rent, at £100 a month, is fantastic value compared to about £800 a month for a one-bed apartment in the same area.

And the compact nature of the pods means there are plenty of potential locations.

They could definitely be the answer for professionals who need a place in the city Monday to Friday, and live elsewhere at weekends.

But the jury’s out on whether you could live in one full time.

And there are downsides.

If they are to offer a housing solution on their own, we would need to see thousands of them installed across the city.

On that scale, historic Oxford could end up looking like something from a sci-fi film.

But we will only solve the housing problems through innovation, and these pods are certainly that.