Housing to 2040 - Present Voices, Future Lives: final report

2. Background, Brief and Objectives

Figure description:

A display of the ‘Present Voices, Future Lives’ Exhibition set up with a number of exhibition stacks.

Home is more than simply shelter. It is not just the place where we live, but has a huge influence on how we live. It can shape our health and wellbeing, as well as our work and prosperity. It also impacts on the quality of our environment and the strength of our communities. Housing touches every part of life in Scotland, from childhood to old age.

'Present Voices Future Lives' 2019

2.1 Background

'Present Voices Future Lives' was a travelling exhibition which toured Scotland between early November and late December 2019, visiting twelve locations (cities, islands, towns and rural) speaking to people, gathering their thoughts, ideas and aspirations on how Scotland's housing should look and feel by 2040. The interactive exhibition was commissioned jointly by Architecture and Design Scotland and the Scottish Government to engage the public on some of the issues and challenges around housing today and in the future. The feedback gathered is aimed to inform the development of the vision and route map for housing over the next 20 years in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has committed to plan together with stakeholders on how our homes and communities should look and feel by 2040 and the options and choices to get there. A formal consultation on the Housing to 2040 policy options was open from December 2019 until February 2020. Given the significance of the future of housing on people's lives, it was felt that there was a need to engage widely in a way that is innovative and inclusive. The exhibition was seen as the means to achieve this and was aimed at supporting the Scottish Government's wider engagement on the Housing to 2040 draft vision and route map. Bringing the exhibition to communities around Scotland, from urban to rural and island locations, enabled us to engage with a wide range of people and communities across Scotland.

The views collected through the consultation and the travelling exhibition will help to inform the Scottish Government's final vision and route map for housing over the next 20 years.

Listening to voices from across the country and across generations can help to inform the creation of a housing system that adapts to the challenges that tomorrow brings, from an ageing population to the climate emergency.

2.2 Exhibition Brief and Objectives

The brief asked for the design, development and delivery of a mobile exhibition with parallel engagements and associated activities. Scottish Government invited proposals for a 'unique exhibition on housing and home-related themes to complement the public consultation on the future of housing to 2040'.

The aim of the exhibition was to share information, raise awareness and create a platform for conversations about the future of housing and the challenges faced. The exhibition needed to incorporate messages around Housing to 2040.

The exhibition designers were also expected to provide an opportunity to "better understand people's lived experiences of housing and place" and capture people's views on issues in their local areas / communities across the country.

The exhibition was to be toured around Scotland visiting 12 locations, representing communities across Scotland. This needed to include cities, towns, and rural and island communities. The primary audience for the exhibition was the general public and the activities had to include engagement with children and young people.

Figure description:

Banner for the ‘Present Voices. Future Lives’ Exhibition which visualizes one of the two main narrative elements of the exhibition - the ‘challenges’ we face as a society in Scotland in relation to how and where we live and providing homes for future generations. The challenges are highlighted in the banner as the following four main ‘Themes’ – Live Build, Live Grow, Live Learn and Live Share – set against a map of Scotland with the exhibition locations backdrop.

On the announcement of the travelling exhibition in autumn 2019, Communities Cabinet Secretary, Aileen Campbell said:

"Housing has a vital role to play in meeting many of our aspirations for Scotland, including eradicating child poverty and homelessness, ending fuel poverty and tackling the climate emergency.

Now is the time for us to come together to shape a resilient housing system which works for us all, and addresses these challenges. To do that, we need to work with and listen to people from all areas of Scotland.

This exhibition is an opportunity to get the views of school children and local communities across the country on the future of housing. I look forward to hearing directly from people about what's important for them and future generations, so that we can create a shared vision and a plan for 2040 that will stand the test of time."^[3]