Co-living: bridging the gap between people and the world

4 Jul 2016

The definition of co-living, according to the urban dictionary, is "shared housing designed to support a purpose-driven life. A modern, urban lifestyle that values openness, sharing and collaboration."

Image via Roam

This is a trend that is becoming increasingly prevalent with the rapid increase in the number of people choosing an urban lifestyle. Shared spaces and amenities have become an accepted part of life and urban dwellers are starting to embrace sharing their personal space with fellow urbanites. An example of this is shared seating in Cape Town restaurants such as Beijing Opera in Roeland Street and Addis in Cape in Long Street.

Combining co-living with nomadism

This has led to the rise of platforms such as Roam, a new network of co-living spaces that allows you to continually move from city to city but only pay one fee, which was designed as an alternative way of thinking about what 'home' means for 'location-independent' people. According to an article on Collectively Conscious, Roam’s founder Bruno Haid said that by combining co-living with nomadism, he hoped to help alleviate the feeling of loneliness that one feels when landing in a new place.

Another example of a successful co-living project is The Share in Tokyo. Housed in an ex-dormitory, the multi-use 6-storey building provides workers and inhabitants (sometimes one and the same) a space to experience work and play together. Having access to communal kitchens, shops, offices, dining rooms, lounges, roof decks and more, The Share was designed to urge residents to communicate and share more than just space.

Image via Roam

Spacious, a co-working hotel located in New York, is another example of how combining work and life can be convenient and economically beneficial. The space allows for hotel guests to sleep in their rooms at night, but during the day share their rooms with locals who are in need of a shared workspace. With hideaway beds that turn into workstations, co-working members get private offices on demand, plus in-house coffee, meals and hotel amenities, and best of all, a subsidised rental.

Considering technological advancements designed around remote working, and working hours becoming more lax with many companies around the world allowing employees to work hours that suit their lifestyles, being a digital nomad is becoming a lot easier than before.