Space Share, Taipei

【城市共享，反造城市】系列講座之三：出租台北：新世代的家與居住想像

 

作為國際都市的台北，最為顯著的特點之一就是人群的快速流動。有人短暫旅行，有人求學數年，有人簽下幾年的工作合約⋯⋯城市內的人群組成流動變化，總有人到來，也總有人離開。但無論在台北停留的時間或短或長，這些人都需要一個落腳棲身的地方。

 

面對各式差異化的人群構成，城市內的居住型態也正在改變中。需要短期租房的人數不斷增加，合租、共居逐漸變成城市中普遍存在的現象，人們對「家」也有了更豐富的想像。十八世紀工業社會與核心家庭的普遍的家庭形態密不可分，它標誌著家作為私人領域與公共領域的分離。如今，在新自由主義的背景下，個人選擇的自由得到突顯，家的多元意義也正在浮現。「家」不再僅僅是世代延續下來的物質空間，更多時候會以階段性的歸宿形式存在象徵多元又個人化的選擇。在這種趨勢中，居住權利的問題也被提出，促使大家反思資本主義邏輯對土地使用的影響以及居住正義的問題。

 

此次講座中，「空屋筆記」的部落格主，自助旅行的愛好者楊宗翰與我們分享了國外空屋使用的案例，為我們展開城市居住的新思潮。玖樓的創辦人潘信榮介紹了玖樓打破公私邊界，營造新型態共居空間的歷程。崔媽媽基金會的呂秉怡老師更以其二十七年的工作經驗回應住宅問題的核心與瓶頸。怎樣去包容城市中短暫停留的過客，而不讓居住成為房產擁有者的特權？如何面對新的共居需求，通過空間的共享與改造，營造新的居住型態？這都是此次講座為我們留下的追問。

     

 一. 「空屋筆記，免費的自由」：我們絕對有辦法用更少的資源過更好的生活

今年24歲的楊宗翰，高高瘦瘦的，說起話來還有些靦腆。宗翰大三的時候在歐洲做交換學生，決定以自己的方式自助旅行，先後住進多個共產社區。在德國萊比錫，宗翰住過一個廢棄了兩三百年的農舍。在那裡，人們像一個大家庭一樣生活，輪流帶小孩，一起耕種、煮飯，共同分擔社區內的工作。讓他驚訝的是，社區內的資源並非如他想像中的平均分配，而是需要多少拿多少，這改變了他對共產的想像。

一開始，宗翰只感覺到這些空間內的生活很自由，人也很有趣，並沒有多想這些空間背後更深一層的意涵。有一天，一位德國的朋友問他是否知道squating， 宗翰的第一反應是：「什麼？健身房裡的深蹲嗎？」好奇的他馬上在網路上尋找相關的資訊，才了解朋友口中的squating跟健身房並沒什麼關係，是指佔領空屋的政治行動。

 

後來到了克羅埃西亞，宗翰住進一間廢棄的屠宰場，見識到居民如何將殘破的空間通過重新粉刷，撿回別人丟棄的家具進行佈置，整理成適合居住的樣子。除了基本整修外，為適應廢棄空間中的生活還要付出許多努力。其中，水、電、食物都是亟待解決的難題。以食物為例，空屋的居民早午會購買下架的麵包食用，一大袋被丟棄的麵包只要七十台幣，足夠全部人吃上兩三天。下午兩三點，大家會一起到菜市場回收賣相不好的蔬菜水果，晚上一起煮飯吃。這些麵包，蔬果，不過是因為放了一天沒人購買，就變成了要被丟棄的廢物，看著城市這樣不斷生產「垃圾」，刺激宗翰開始反思生活的意義。住在空屋到底可以改變什麼？「非法佔領，合法閒置」是否真的成立，還是只是商業邏輯的衍生品？

 

宗翰舉了一個捷克醫院的例子。這間廢棄的醫院曾經是販毒等各種非法交易的場所，警察都不敢進入。直到一群人的「非法」佔領使得這個地方重見光明，成為一個社區的公共空間。雖然後來這群「非法」佔領的人還是被驅離，但警察卻對他們表達感謝，因為對比這廢棄已久的空間，他們的進駐帶來了街區活力，轉化了存在已久的治安犯罪等問題。在空屋的生活在無形中通過對資源的有效使用減少了不必要的浪費，為所謂的「廢品」帶來新的價值，更提出一種新的生活方式與消費觀。家，作為一個共同居住的公社，不再是封閉的私領域，也不是資本主義社會中消費的基本單位，而變成一個實踐新的生活方式的場域，發展出迥異於無處不在的消費邏輯另一種新的生活價值。

 

現在，宗翰除了繼續旅行之外，正在台灣積極推廣免費商店的行動，通過「白吃的野餐」，「剩食餐廳」等活動形式，鼓勵大家將家中用不到的東西拿出來與需要的人分享，減少不必要的消費。宗翰說，做這些活動並不是去反對消費，而是希望讓大家知道，我們絕對有辦法用更少的資源過更好的生活，而不是被金錢綁架。

二.  玖樓：尋求共生，當代年輕人的創新棲地

傍晚微雨，在大安區安靜的巷弄內，一棟老舊公寓的二樓亮起暖黃的燈光。推開鐵門，沿著樓梯走上去，可以聽見從屋內傳來的談笑聲。這裡是玖樓，此次講座舉辦的地方。傳統的客廳經過調整變成一個開放的講座空間，大家或是擠在沙發上，或者索性坐在地上，品嚐著從廚房傳過來美味的點心，空間中充滿歡樂的氣氛。

 

玖樓的創辦人之一是台大城鄉所的學生潘信榮。信榮說還在唸書的時候就接觸很多與居住相關的問題，自己對此很有興趣。那時候與幾個朋友在台北合租，公寓正是在九樓，空間雖然雜亂但是覺得很自在，有時候連門都不關就出門。這樣的人情溫度與記憶讓信榮開始想像在台北租屋的新可能，並且開始了具體的籌劃。

仔細研究了台北的租屋情況後，信榮認為在流動人口多，屋主多為長輩，租屋率低，但空屋率很高的台北，短期租房有很大的市場空間。因此，玖樓的團隊因運而生，成為一個獨具個性的租屋管理平台，不僅關注租屋的供需，更注重空間內部的規劃、使用，甚至認為這是最小單元的社區營造基地。

 

在聯繫屋主的過程中，信榮得到了很多積極的回應。其中一個典型的案例是一位長期居住在美國的醫生阿姨，因為兒女都已在外成家，家裡常空著。她決定出租住房的最主要原因就是想要多認識一些年輕人，讓不同世代間可以產生相互了解與交流的可能性。

 

在空間的設計上，信榮的團隊受到了女性主義設計的啟發。在空間上打破父權體系的分工，模糊私人與公共空間的界線，讓居住的人能夠有平等的空間使用權利。比如說，修改狹小的廚房，使其不再是女性獨自承擔家務的空間；改變客廳的使用方式，讓這裡不再是男主人蹺腳看電視的地方等。

 

在玖樓，公共與私人領域之間的界線被模糊，也為家庭空間的使用帶來更加豐富的潛能。在這裡，有NGO來開會，有旅行作家來辦展，更有電影團隊來此取景。如今，玖樓作為租屋管理平台已經有十處據點。信榮希望玖樓在佈滿台北的過程，能為流動人口地區帶來活力，成為年輕世代心中美好生活藍圖的具體實踐，並提供一種替代選擇的方案。

三. 崔媽媽基金會：居住是一個社會性的過程

從傳統的住宅政策入手至今，呂秉怡老師關注台北的租屋問題已經二十餘年。在此次座談中，呂老師以其豐富的經驗對於前兩位座談人給出了精彩的回應。呂老師說，居住是一個社會性的過程，是人、群體、與空間之間發生的化學反應，最關鍵的還是人。呂老師提到，永和青年住宅的打造就是一個很好的例子。永和青年住宅的居民通過認領周邊公共空間，共同種菜，以及舉辦狗狗節等活動，以共同關心的議題將彼此串連起來，催化了社會網絡的形成，讓住這件事變得更加生活化，社會化。

 

談到當下台北市的住宅政策，呂老師認為還有許多需要補足的地方。比如說都市更新計畫中一坪換一坪的原則導致地產暴利，沒有帶來預設中的參與；管理社會住宅的物業公司長期受到壓榨，缺少創新的動力，更難以貼近社區的文化。要擾動這樣的狀態，要有新的居住理念，也需要年輕人去做具體的行動，催化良好居住型態的產生。所以呂老師認為，宗翰和信榮的嘗試都是十分可貴的。

 

然而，呂老師也提到，要繼續玖樓這樣的空間實踐，到了一定的規模總會遇到諸如成本控制、人員管理等問題。而規模的擴大可能會帶來制度化的需求，S.O.P的出現很多時候會減少空間規劃的彈性與創新，這些都是要去面對的發展瓶頸。

四. 聽眾的聲音：行動！行動！

與談結束後，主持人連振佑老師提出了家，跨世代，共居，另一種選擇（alternative）等關鍵字帶動大家發問。隨後的提問圍繞著租屋法規，傳統家庭能否融入新興共居關係，玖樓模式複製的可能性與困難性等問題展開，討論十分熱烈，直到夜色降臨還有人不捨離去。

 

DDIO是一位在台北租屋八年的軟體工程師。在租屋的過程中，他發現，高學歷，收入穩定的他常得到房東的青睞，也曾親眼見過一位單親媽媽簽約後也被房東毀約的事情。他說：「關注這個問題是為了整個台灣社會，並不是為了我自己。土地正義的問題關乎每個人的生活，特別是邊緣群體的生活，我希望看到新的解決辦法。」

 

兩位來自政大的學生聽完演講後，對宗翰提出的「非法佔領，合法閒置」非常有感觸。他們表示沒想過可以這樣去生活，其中一位提到：「如果有機會，我也想親自去試一試，透過類似嘗試佔領閒置空間等行動，用更少的資源去生活試試看！」

 

一位重回輔仁大學學校唸研究所的媽媽說，雖然當下自己的家還不能做到像玖樓這樣開放，但有她深受兩位年輕人的觸動。她說：「從他們身上我看到這個世代的年輕人直面問題，提出解決方案的勇氣。我想這與年輕世代的背景有關，與整個社會的變化有關，是我想要繼續去了解的！」

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Space Share Series Lecture:

Renting Taipei: Imagination of Co-living in the New Era

 

Taipei, as a metropolitan city, is characterized by its increasing floating population.  Some people come to visit for a couple of days, some stay here for college, and some plan to work for for several years. All these people need a place to settle down.

 

Resulting from the people flow, the demand for renting in Taipei is increasing. Co-renting or co-living becomes popular, and people begin to have new imaginations about “home”. Starting from the 18th century, industrialization has led to the domination of nuclear family, which marked the separation of the private and the public sphere. Under the neoliberal conditions, the individual freedom is emphasized, and what family means becomes personalized. “Home” turns out to be an individual choice, and has various forms. Meanwhile, the questions about living rights are also raised, which motivated the public to reflect on the justice on land using.

 

In this lecture, Han Yang, the blogger of Note in Ruin, shared interesting international cases on squatting, or occupying ruins with us. The founder of 9Floor Co-Living Apartment, ShiyinRung Pan, told us how a co-living space broke the boundary between the public and the private, creating new possibilities space using in a home.  Lu Bing-yi, the executive of Tsuei Ma Ma Foundation for Housing and Community Service, focused on the housing policies and the future of new co-living apartments. This lecture left us with two important questions: How to embrace the floating populations in the city and stop limiting the rights of living to the property owners? How to react to the increasing needs for co-living by creating new types of spaces?

 

1. Note in Ruin: we can live a better life with less resources

Han Yang is a tall and slim young man of 24 years old. When he was exchanging in Europe, he decided to travel in his own way, and living in numerous “ruins” was en essential part. In Leipzig, Han lived in a farm, which has been a ruin for over two hundred years. In this commune, people live together as a big family, sharing the houseworks and taking care of the children in turns. What surprised Han was that the resources in the commune was not distributed equally to everyone. Instead, people take foods, money and so on based on their needs. This finding changed Han’s former imagination of a communist way of living.

 

At the very beginning, Han only felt that the life here was relaxing, and the residents enjoyed a high level of freedom. One day, a friend asked him: “Do you know squatting? ” Han’s first reaction was that: “What? Squatting in the gym? ” Driven by curiosity, Han did a research online and realized that squatting refers to a serious of political actions on living rights through occupying the ruins.

 

After leaving Germany, Han travelled to Croatia and witnessed the transformation of a ruined abattoir. It took a long time for the residents there to make this ruin a proper place to live, as they repainted the walls, cleaned the floors and picked up furnitures dumped on the streets. However, the residents still have to face the problems of food, water, and electricity. Taking food as an example, they managed to buy bags of bread and cakes, which had just been dumped after being on the shelves for only one day. A bag of food was sold for seventy Taiwan dollars, and could be the brunch for all the residents for two or three days. In the afternoon, the residents would begin to prepare the dinner, going to nearby markets to search for vegetables and fruits hard to be sold due to the tiny blemishes.

 

These experiences motivated Han to reflect on the value of squatting. What can be changed by these actions? Why occupying the spaces is illegal and leaving them as ruins is legal? To answer these questions, Han shared a case on a ruined hospital in Czech Republic with us. This ruined hospital had been a place for illegal activities such as drug dealing. Before a group of people transformed the hospital into a community space, even the local police felt reluctant to enter the hospital. Although the people occupied the hospital were finally driven out of the space, the police came to thank them for the positive impacts they created for the whole community.

 

Based on the Han’s sharing, it can be seen that although the life in ruins could be hard, it did make numerous differences. On one hand, by reusing the “trashes”, the residents attached new values to the wasted resources, brought out an alternative way of living and broke the myth of consumption. Home, as a co-living commune, is no longer a private sphere separated from the public. It is also not the basic units for consumption in the capitalist society any more. Home turns out to be a platform for experimenting alternative life styles.

 

At present, Han is working on a project named Free Shop. Through holding activities such as free

picnics and food waste restaurants, Han aims to encourage sharing of things no longer needed. Han said that doing these activities is not advocating for no consumption at all, but he wishes to let more people know that we can live a better life with fewer resources.

 

2. 9Floor Co-living Apartment: an alternative way of co-existence for the young generation

It was a rainy dusk, and if you walk in a quiet lane in the Daan district, you will see an old house covered by green. On the second floor, it is  9Floor Co-living Apartment, where the lecture was held. The traditional living room was transformed into an open space, and the audience were sitting on the floor or on coaches. Tasting the delicious cakes cooked by one flatmate, everyone were fully relaxed in the delightful atmosphere.

 

ShiyinRung Pan, the founder of 9Floor, is a student from the Building and Planning Graduate School in National Taiwan University. ShiyinRung said that he was interested in housing issues during his college years. When he was studying in Taipei, he rented an apartment on the ninth floor with several classmates, and sometimes they even left the door open when no one was in the house. This warm memory and unforgettable experience motivated ShiyinRung to think about new possibilities of renting in Taipei.

 

After studying the renting situation in Taipei thoroughly, ShiyinRung considered that the short-term renting was of increasing demand. Consequently, 9Floor, a platform for managing houses on rent, was established, which not only renting houses but also providing advice for space design. What’s more important is that the co-living apartments are taken as the basic units for community cultivation.

 

When contacting the potential space providers, ShiyinRung received lots of active response. One of the typical cases is the house of a doctor who lives in the U.S. after retirement and only return to Taiwan one or two times a year. The major reason she decided to rent her house through the 9Floor platform is that she wanted more opportunities to communicate with young people. ShiyinRung thought that this case revealed the potentials of renting in making social impacts by connecting different generations together.

 

For the co-living apartments under the 9Floor renting platform, the spaces are designed with inspirations from the feminist house designs. To break the social division under the patriarchal society, the feminist designers aim to blur the boundary between the public and the private spheres, giving equal rights to the residents in using the space at home. For example, the tiny kitchen can become a more open space rather than a place for females’ housework; the living room can also be used for different activities rather than a place dominated by the males to watch TV.

 

In 9Floor co-living apartments, the blurring boundary of the public and the private has brought new possibilities of space using at home: NGO hold meetings, artists open their exhibitions, and even film groups come here for shooting. Now, 9Floor has already had over twenty apartments in Taipei. ShiyinRung hoped that the co-living apartments under 9Floor can energize places with dense floating populations, fitting into the cultures of different communities and offer an alternative for practicing an ideal way of living.

 

3. Tsuei Ma Ma Foundation: living is a socializing process.

Lu Bing-yi, the executive of Tsuei Ma Ma Foundation, have worked on the housing problems in Taipei for over two decades. Mr. Lu said that living is a socializing process, which should be considered as a kind of chemical reaction between different groups of people. Mr. Lu took Yonghe Apartment for the young people as an example. In these apartments, the residents were connected by co-managing the nearby public places. Through constructing open farms and holding pet festivals, the residents become a community with sharing interests and concerns, and a social network was embedded in the living environments of the apartments.

 

Talking about the present house policies, Mr. Lu considered that amendments were still needed. For example, the revitalization of the urban spaces may create extreme profits for land trading. What’s more, the management teams of the social houses are under long term exploitation and have no motivation to learn about the needs of the residents. To make a real change, Mr. Lu said that we have to put forward new visions and make innovative actions, so the practices by Han and ShiyinRung were both precious experiments.

 

However, concerning the future of 9Floor, Mr Lu pointed out two challenges. On one hand, when this platform develops to a larger scale, it has to face the problems such as cost control and human resources management. On the other, the expansion will also make S.O.P necessary, which may harm the flexibility of the space management and limit the potential for innovations.

 

4. The voice from the audience: action! action!

During the Q&A session, the host  Professor Lien Chenyu raised several key words such as “home”, “cross-generations”, “co-living” and “alternative” to stimulate the discussions.

 

DDIO is an software engineer who has rented apartments in Taipei for eight years. Reflecting on his experiences on renting houses, DDIO found that he was more preferred by the house owners because of his higher education level and stable income, and he has witnessed how a house owner rejected a single mother, which left him an unforgettable memory. He said: “I care about the housing problems not for myself but for the Taiwan society. Justice on land using concerns everyone’s life, especially for the marginalized social groups. I wish to see new approaches in solving the housing problems.”

 

Two college students in National Chengchi University were extremely interested in Han’s reflections on “illegal occupations and legal ruins”. These two young men said they have never thought about living in this way. One of them mentioned that “I also wanted to give squatting a try if I had opportunities.”

 

A graduate student in Fu Jen Catholic University is a mother already. She said: “ Han and ShiyinRung show me the courage of the young generation in facing the social realities, and I want to know more about the social conditions of their growth and how new social conditions shaped their values and visions. ”

 

The later questions raised by the audience focused on housing policies, possibilities for integrating the traditional family into co-living apartments, and the business model of 9Floor. In the relaxing atmosphere at 9Floor, everyone was immersed into the pleasure of thought exchanging, and even felt reluctant to leave till night. 

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