Participants wanted for research exploring living in a small home
The UK has some of the smallest homes in Western Europe – but what’s it like to live in a smaller home, and are you happy with the amount of living space you have? Our research will involve speaking to residents and housing professionals to understand both the regulations around housing size, and the choices and experiences of people living in these homes. As we have all been spending more time at home, this has become an even more important issue.
Who can take part?
We are looking for participants living in Sheffield or Edinburgh who live in:
- HMOs (e.g. bedsits in the rented sector)
- New build houses
- Older homes (e.g. terraces, tenements, converted flats)
- Micro-apartments
What do we mean by ‘small’?
We know homes in these categories are likely to be smaller, but this also relates to how the home is used and our own expectations of living space. You may feel your living space is too small, you don’t have enough storage, bedroom space, or outside space. But even if your home meets your needs, if you think it’s small compared to other housing, we would still like to speak to you.
What’s involved?
A phone conversation of between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on how much you want to say. We will record this and anonymise what you say. Every participant will receive a £25 voucher as a thank you for taking part.
What will we talk about?
This will be guided by you, but the topics we think are important are:
- How you came to live in your current home
- Your housing choices and the positive and negative things about living in your current home
- How this relates to your housing aspirations
- Your experience of living in a small home – in ‘normal’ times, and at the moment when we are all required to spend more time at home
Get involved
If you fit the criteria outlined above and would live to participate in this research, please contact:
- Dr Jenny Preece
jenny.preece@sheffield.ac.uk
Tel: 0114 222 9785
To learn more about this programme, read the introductory blog by Dr Jenny Preece or visit the research project webpage.
Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash
Date: June 1, 2020 1:51 pm
Author(s): Jenny Preece
