Fix ALL The Things!

[DanFoxDavies]

Let's hammer out a policy on applying the 21st century's crowdsourcing technologies and solutions to municipal issues.

1. Empty homes: brought to the fore this week by Channel Four's 'The Great British Property Scandal' run neatly in tandem with their Dispatches segment on 'Landlords from hell', this is all about sorting out the housing crisis using homes that already exist but for some reason currently stand empty, often whole streets or even neighbourhoods at a time. Landlords from hell covers the corruption in the rental markets, and how people are forced to live in these squalid conditions for the sake of a landlord like Dave Wells' profits. Often the homes that have stood empty for 10 years are in better nick. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/
Channel Four have created a crowdsourcing tool for reporting empty homes here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the- ... -an-empty/

2. FixMyStreet: This tool has already proven very successful in making it easy to report street and street furniture defects and issues to the local council anywhere in the country. http://www.fixmystreet.com or a similar service (thinking competition here) should be suggested as a preferred tool to all councils.

3. FixMyTransport: This comes from the same people as FixMyStreet, http://www.mysociety.org and is at http://www.fixmytransport.com . This one's all about sorting out the public transport system, from crumbling train stations to raised bus stop kerbs.

I say the Pirate Party should work with these sorts of tools and integrate them as a general idea into policy.
EDIT: And why not refurbish these empty homes in the greenest and most sustainable ways possible, and integrate THAT into the policy?

[borgs8472]

Hi Dan

Housing policy has been bought up many a time before in open discussion, but it seems always in isolation. The argument must be (IMO) how can existing policies be extended to encompass housing, not 'should be devise a housing policy from nothing' I believe.

[DanFoxDavies]

My focus was less on whether it's a standalone policy or integrated or what, it was more about the ideas in general.

[topperfalkon]

Let's hammer out a policy on applying the 21st century's crowdsourcing technologies and solutions to municipal issues.

1. Empty homes: brought to the fore this week by Channel Four's 'The Great British Property Scandal' run neatly in tandem with their Dispatches segment on 'Landlords from hell', this is all about sorting out the housing crisis using homes that already exist but for some reason currently stand empty, often whole streets or even neighbourhoods at a time. Landlords from hell covers the corruption in the rental markets, and how people are forced to live in these squalid conditions for the sake of a landlord like Dave Wells' profits. Often the homes that have stood empty for 10 years are in better nick. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/
Channel Four have created a crowdsourcing tool for reporting empty homes here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the- ... -an-empty/

An interesting point. Perhaps PPUK should move to introduce legislation or taxation to dissuade landlords from leaving fit residential housing unoccupied. We'd also have to ensure landlords don't intentionally allow properties to fall into disrepair (occupied or not).

2. FixMyStreet: This tool has already proven very successful in making it easy to report street and street furniture defects and issues to the local council anywhere in the country. http://www.fixmystreet.com or a similar service (thinking competition here) should be suggested as a preferred tool to all councils.

3. FixMyTransport: This comes from the same people as FixMyStreet, http://www.mysociety.org and is at http://www.fixmytransport.com . This one's all about sorting out the public transport system, from crumbling train stations to raised bus stop kerbs.

I say the Pirate Party should work with these sorts of tools and integrate them as a general idea into policy.

I'd like the idea of working with these tools, definitely.

EDIT: And why not refurbish these empty homes in the greenest and most sustainable ways possible, and integrate THAT into the policy?

Again, a good idea.

Hi Dan

Housing policy has been bought up many a time before in open discussion, but it seems always in isolation. The argument must be (IMO) how can existing policies be extended to encompass housing, not 'should be devise a housing policy from nothing' I believe.

We don't really have a Party policy regarding housing though, which we should cover as part of this process.