The cohousing scheme at Marmalade Lane, Cambridge, is one of the 21 projects of this type existing in the UK led by individual community groups. What is the thinking behind its shared spaces and decision-making by consensus, and can it become central to mainstream developers’ delivery of homes, not only a niche option?

Which community housing models – internationally and at home in the UK – work and why? How does the UK’s community housing network operate and what needs to happen for the barriers to fall so that people without extensive means can achieve the solutions they need? Future Homes for London: Alternative Models, an international conference staged by the Royal College of Art’s School of Architecture, underlined the rich potentials.

Addressing housing needs as a democratic principle through coherent and equitable urban plans and community engagement is a prerequisite for good city making and the advancement of genuinely liveable urbanism, argues architect Paul Karakusevic, founder of Karakusevic Carson Architects, in a new interview with Lucy Bullivant.

In a world threatened by increasing human and natural disasters, accelerated by excessive exploitation and extraction of resources, architect and participatory design expert Alexander Furunes argues that to advance mutual support it becomes increasingly important to find alternatives to existing decision-making structures – alternatives which that do not belong to the paradigm of economic growth. He advocates collaborative practices such as dugnad (Norway) and bayanihan (Philippines) to help give voice to those who normally do not have the power to influence decision-making.

How to change perceptions of local public spaces through participatory design interventions and regenerate the fractured fabrics of neighbourhoods, shifting them towards mixed use, are never-ending challenges Mexican architect Francisco Pardo enjoys meeting.

Urban planning has relied on silo thinking and across time dealt with earlier crises and changes by making big picture shifts, and applying philanthropy, creative inventions and drastic social interventions. That pattern is not so dissimilar to today’s uncompromising top down planning. But today’s circumstances – positive and negative – often usher in a process of incremental radical reinvention of planning’s metabolic powers. Riga, Latvia’s capital, where 637,000 people live – 33% of the country’s population – is demonstrating a wealth of innovative strategic planning strategies. These are likely to burst the bubble of traditional planning’s inward-facing silo mentality – well past-its-sell-by date in ways of benefit right across society.

Today’s stern realities – social, economic, ecological and cultural – demand incisive responses and action, beyond words and good intentions. The Dugnad Days project matches well the theme of the Oslo Architecture Triennale (OAT) 2019, Enough: The Architecture of Degrowth, announced on 22 May. Through a promising sounding programme of exhibitions, performances and debates, this challenging festival incubates dozens of creative responses by local international architects and practitioners. One of them is Dugnad Days, a participatory design project staged in Slettaløkka, a suburb of Oslo, which were put on display along with all the others in The Library, OAT’s exhibition at the National Museum, Oslo, from 26 Sept 2019.