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ColivingDAO Insights: The Web3 Path for Regen Living
Hosted by ColivingDAO founders Daniel Aprea and Gareth Thompson, this podcast explores how Web3 technologies can enable sustainable, community-driven, and regenerative living.
Each episode of "ColivingDAO Insights" offers valuable perspectives, knowledge, and analysis on the practical applications of Web3 technologies in fostering regenerative living, such as decentralised ownership and governance models, proptech innovations, community living, and ways to regenerate both the planet and the economy.
ColivingDAO Insights: The Web3 Path for Regen Living
Coliving News and Trends in 2024
Is the 9-5 workday truly a thing of the past as remote work and coliving spaces reshape our lifestyles? Join us for an engaging conversation with Daniel and Gareth as they unpack the transformative trends of coliving and remote work, spotlighting a vibrant coworking and coliving community in rural Spain. Discover the concept of "workations," where work meets vacation, and explore why reliable connectivity is the backbone of success for these modern living arrangements. Our discussion highlights how rural coliving can enhance wellbeing, boost productivity, and foster a sense of community, offering a refreshing escape from high-stress urban life.
Unearth the intriguing benefits of coliving in nature-rich, remote areas and how they align with sustainability and creativity. We delve into innovative ideas like coliving spaces producing their own furniture as part of a circular economy. This practice not only reduces waste but also creates personalized living spaces, appealing to those with a conscious and artistic lifestyle. We also navigate the dual appeal of urban and rural coliving spaces, each uniquely contributing to lifestyle improvements and communal wellbeing for digital nomads and remote workers alike.
The role of technology and sustainability in coliving spaces is a double-edged sword we cannot ignore. While automatic systems and eco-friendly designs promise efficiency, they also raise valid concerns about privacy and data management. Our community-focused approach advocates for models where residents share ownership and control, like ColivingDAO, ensuring trust and transparency. Flexible spaces that adapt to changing needs, coupled with wellness-centric programs, are pivotal in catering to the evolving desires for autonomy and community connection. Tune in to hear how these elements are shaping the future of coliving, enhancing lifestyle and promoting holistic wellbeing.
Welcome everyone to another episode of Co-iving DAO Insights. This is your co-host, daniel, joined today by my co-host, gareth. Hi Gareth, hi Dan, we're back, which is great. That's great, great to have you here as well, and today we'll be having a chat about co-living. We'll be discussing different topics. It's going to be a bit of an open conversation. We love talking about co-living, gareth, so let's keep it light and fun and playful and interesting as much as we can, right, gareth?
Gareth:Yeah, exactly Dan. So this week we're going to bring in some recent developments in co-living and have a look at what's going on in the news, and we're going to surprise each other a little bit, right? So I don't know what you're going to talk about and you don't really know what I'm going to talk about and bring to the table. So this is going to be a little bit of a different format and it will be kind of fun to take a different approach.
Daniel:Surprise, surprise. Yeah, I'm very excited and intrigued to see what you bring to the table today. Yeah, table today? Yeah, absolutely so how do you want to get started? Yeah, so I do have something that I wanted to show you. I'm pretty sure you got something you want to show me as well, so why don't you bring something to the plate and we play it by ear?
Gareth:Okay, let's do that. Okay, so, dan, what I've got for you is six tweets on X, or Twitter as it used to be called. These are new sort of business developments in the co-living space and it gives you a flavour of what's going on out there in the wider world. So it's kind of interesting to see real examples of what other businesses are doing and to see what people are saying about it and what the kind of takes are on it or where the issues that people think might exist with some of these new ideas and concepts that are going out there. So it's pretty interesting. There's a selection of examples from around the world, in fact, and, yeah, I think you'll find it will be fun.
Daniel:That's great, yeah, because you know there's a lot of stuff happening in the co-living space. I'm sure everyone is listening right now. If you love co-living, you're probably staying up to speed with the recent developments, but if you're just curious about what's going on, there's definitely a lot of opportunities to find out. So it is a new trend. It is something that is fast-paced, growing very, very quickly. So definitely a lot going on. So I'm very excited to see what you've noticed that is happening in this space and let's discuss.
Gareth:Yeah, well, we've built up the tension now, so people are going to be excited to hear about these groundbreaking tweets that I'm going to bring to the world here in this podcast. So, yeah, we have a selection from around the world and it really is, I think, a hot business. For anyone that's not really following it closely, you might not be super aware, but it's definitely riding a bit of a wave, I would say, and it kind of closely linked to the co-working concept as well. Co-working, as we know, with examples like WeWork and other big companies, that's been a trend for a few years now and I think co-living is really working in unison and parallel with that wave. So it is pretty hot space. All right, drum roll, we got the first tweet.
Gareth:So we have a tweet from Peter Fabor, who is commenting on a new co-working, co-living space that looks like a startup office in a large city but it's actually located in a very small village.
Gareth:This concept is rural co-living in the south of Spain. Peter Faber says many people could, in theory, work remotely and dream of this type of kind of workation. He calls it, which is like work and vacation combined, but he says they might need to show their boss a picture of a legit office and a speed test with fiber internet and he says I haven't until now seen such a setup in a rural environment. So this is rural Spain and the business is actually called Rural, which is R-O-O-R-A-L, and that's quite a cool concept and we've spoken about ideas like this in the past in our past podcast episodes, dan, of different configurations of co-living in different locations. So this is one that's really focused on rural and giving that kind of workation this new word that Peter Faber has commented on and created there. What do you think about the concept of co-living, co-working coming together? Are those issues? Do you think that when people are working, they need to show that they've got a legit office and speed test their internet?
Daniel:Oh wow. My first feeling is that talking about Wi-Fi speed is bringing me PTSD. And we're not even talking about rural co-living here. I have experienced a lot of Wi-Fi issues in urban co-living spaces as well, to be honest, not just co-living spaces. Even in the actual offices in central London I've had a lot of Wi-Fi issues in urban co-living spaces as well, to be honest, not just co-living spaces. Even in the actual offices in central London I've had a lot of Wi-Fi issues, so it's not something that is unique to co-living. Wi-fi issues is a bit of a problem pretty much in any type of organization.
Gareth:Oh, I totally agree. I totally agree, Dan, and we've had I mean, I've been in places where it's a very legit office and the Wi-Fi is terrible, right, Even at home sometimes, where you pay for a really expensive Wi-Fi setup. It's not always reliable. So you know I think this is just a fact of life that there's a little bit of randomness in the quality of Wi-Fi signals around the world in different places. We always imagine like, oh, when I'm in London, the big city is really developed, it's going to have amazing Wi-Fi. It's not always the case. I've had calls with friends in Vietnam and they had far better Wi-Fi than I did.
Daniel:Absolutely so. Wi-fi issue is a bit of a 2024 or just simply, let's say, post-pandemic major dynamic where, yes, it's true, Wi-Fi is very important and certainly a lot of the times Wi-Fi works very well, but sometimes there are issues, even in highly developed areas such as central London, for example. So, again, not just something unique to co-living or unique to rural locations in any way, shape or form, but certainly a good point when it comes to making sure that people have the right setup to work. Now the first question to address, I believe, is rural co-living Is it a good setup for work, remote work and I think in general we'll get to Wi-Fi in a moment but in general, working from a rural space can be a great idea for lifestyle and it can be a great way to tap into a wider workforce as well, Because if we think about the way companies hire employees, there's a huge location element in there and a lot of companies want to be in a certain place because that's where the workforce is, that's where the skilled workforce is especially.
Daniel:But sometimes that can be very limiting and I've been in companies, working with businesses, where it was actually challenging to access the right type of workforce just because of the location, and I'm not even talking about companies in small cities. I'm talking London, or one area of London or just outside London, versus a different area. That could actually be a problem for companies looking for workers in person. So now that's a conversation probably not just unique to co-living more working remotely versus working in the office but that's something that is definitely a thing when it comes to understanding if this rural co-living can exist combined with remote working. Gareth.
Gareth:Yeah, 100%, dan. And what comes to mind when I think about this is working rurally in a more remote location. People are kind of they're looking for this right now. Right, the wellbeing space is really developing and being in a rural space is a great way to take care of your wellbeing, because often there's countryside, there might be a coastline, a beach, a coast, and being in these kinds of spaces is really good for people's mental well-being and maybe they work much more effectively from these kinds of locations than in a really high stress big city environment. So there's a bit of a tension there between the workforce that the employer is looking for and the kind of working space and working life that employees are looking for.
Daniel:So it's a really interesting dynamic and it's not very clear cut. Yeah, exactly, there's definitely a lot of lifestyle benefits and let's take as an example, let's take a company that has already assessed the work from home situation, work remotely opportunity, and let's say, for the nature of that particular business, it actually works out to work remotely. Of course, some businesses won't be able to do that. Some jobs, by their very nature they won't be remote. However, let's assume we're talking about a company where something can be done fully digitally or remotely. What's the advantage of being rural versus being in the city or just simply from home?
Daniel:A lot of lifestyle advantages for people that want that type of lifestyle. Of course, not everyone wants that. Not everyone wants to be in nature. Some people love the city, the convenience, having a store just next to you, having a lot of different things. Now, what I like about co-living is that it can bring those advantages to pretty much any area.
Daniel:So if we think about a rural space, someone living alone in the countryside, sure they can be connected to nature, which is awesome. It's fantastic to be able to wake up in the morning and see the countryside. Maybe living near a beach could be nice as well, and especially if it's a sunny place for a lot of people, they love that. But then it can be isolating.
Daniel:Being in a co-living space changes the game completely. First of all because it brings in community people around and opportunities to just hang out with people when someone is not at work. And the other advantage is convenience as well, so making sure there's something. So if stores are too far, there could be a store in the co-living space or maybe there can be a service, a delivery service to that space, because it's worth having that sort of delivery service because there's people around. So if you bring in the aspect of community and the aspect of convenience that co-living brings in, then there's definitely a big argument for rural spaces where people work just like they would work in a co-working space remotely and live together as well. Gareth.
Gareth:Yeah, absolutely, and I was just thinking. You know you mentioned that some jobs require you to be in the office. I had an interesting thought In a co-living environment it might be possible for an employer to actually employ multiple people and then put them in the same co-living in a remote location so they could actually get the benefits of face-to-face contact with their colleagues and live in a remote location and get the well-being benefits of being close to nature and all the rest of it. So there's some interesting combinations there that co-living unlocks, that the simple co-working environment doesn't unlock.
Daniel:Yeah, that's a great concept and, I think, one that is going to grow. I think we briefly touched upon this in some of our episodes when we discussed the opportunity for companies to have their employees live in a co-living space, Because there's a lot of advantages in terms of wellness, well-being, lifestyle and living in a co-living space. So why not have multiple employees live in the same co-living space? They do have a co-working area they can use, which is almost like being in the office, and it could be by department. If you think about how often different departments in a company spend time physically with each other on a day-to-day basis, it's not too often. I've been in teams and companies where people in the same department they need to work together quite a lot, but people in different departments sure it's nice to meet every now and then, but they don't need to do that on a day-to-day basis. So that can be a great way for a company to really have a distributed team, potentially in different co-living spaces all around the world.
Gareth:That'd be pretty cool. I'd enjoy that kind of lifestyle. All right, should we move on to the second tweet, dan? This one will be a bit shorter and it's from a lars willemps and lars is doing some sort of co-living challenge. I'm not sure what it is, but they ended up in a co-living in italy, in barry. I have no idea where that is.
Gareth:You might know where that is done, and the notable thing about this co-living space is that they make all their own furniture. They make all the furniture themselves, and this is something really close to my heart, because I'm a big environmental sustainability advocate, and a big part of what we want to do at Co-Living Dial is embed environmental sustainability into the heart of the business, and so making your own furniture is an example of the circular economy, where you could, for example, take old scraps of wood and other materials and make furniture out of it, or upcycle waste and turn it into furniture. What do you think about that, dan? What do you think about the? You have an Italian heritage, right? What do you think about the stylistic aspects of creating your own furniture in a co-living?
Daniel:I think it's a great idea. It's very niche and obviously it will appeal to some people. Some people probably won't care too much love the idea of living in a space where the furniture is not just random and it's not just purchased in a traditional corporate capitalistic way but it's created with the effort of the very same people that put up the space in the first place. So surely I can see the appeal can be quite fascinating for some.
Daniel:I haven't seen the furniture.
Daniel:I'm sure it looks gorgeous and at the whole point I understand it's not just making it look rustic or unique and characteristic, but it's really this concept of circular economy and understanding that maybe you don't need to just buy ready-made things. You can give a different flavor to a co-living space which is in line with the values and the principles and really the style of that particular co-living space. So something that might not be extremely scalable on some level. If I think of huge co-living spaces again, we lived in very big spaces as well I can think of a space with 500 plus people. Probably that's not very scalable. So it's probably a bit of a challenge to have furniture made for 500 people in a non-industrial way. So I can see that work for smaller co-living spaces, where the type of people that go there are really into these little details and it can be really a great thing to do. And, by the way, is it the co-living owners that make the furniture? Is it the co-living residents as well that take part? What's the actual way the furniture is built?
Gareth:Yeah, it'd be interesting to know. I haven't gone into the details there, but I had a look at some of the pictures of some of the furniture and it was very well constructed, very well made put together. So you know, it could be either or it could be quite interesting to see the residents working with the co-living operator to make the furniture. It could be quite a fun way to build bonds between co-living staff and co-living residents. So I think either or would be interesting. And also I think you know, if you make your own furniture it would really stamp an identity and a personality on a space. It would really make the co-living space feel a bit more unique for me. So it's quite a cool idea.
Daniel:Yeah, especially if the people get involved. I think one of the major drawbacks in a way, or simply objections, some people may have about living in co-living is that they will feel that it's not their space, especially when co-living is completely pre-designed. Now some people don't have that objection and it's very possible to feel home in a co-living space. A lot of people would agree with that. But some other people think I want to have my own space because I want to just design the way I want. I want to do what I want with my space.
Daniel:Now, being in a space where you are able to contribute in designing the furniture, that would certainly address this and I'm sure that if people can create some of the furniture, can actually design the ambience to a larger extent compared to the average, the usual co-living space, that would definitely make it feel more homey for a lot of people and therefore address this objection some people have that the space is not their own. Address this objection. Some people have that the space is not their own. In fact, if you live there and you create the furniture to an extent, then it's pretty much your home, isn't it Absolutely?
Gareth:And also, if you make your own chair, you can't really make excuses about the chairs aren't comfortable, right? That's true, no complaints, you have to sit on your own chair. Yeah, that could be cool, all right. So on to the next tweet, and this is another kind of just a quick one, just to say that there's a Shemperial098 is pointing out that there's a co-living in Gargao. Gargao is just outside or in the fringes of New Delhi, huge city in India. So again, just an example of co-living around the world. We just had the last tweet from Italy, from Barry in Italy. The one before it was rural Spain, and this is an example of a co-living space in Gargao, in a very big city in India. So, dan, yeah, what do you think about the international aspect of co-living? What's going on there?
Daniel:Yeah, I think co-living is proliferating in more and more countries. I mean, india is a huge market. I think we looked at the CAGR in India, the compound annual growth rate, and it was double-digit even a couple of years ago. So we're talking about a concept that is growing more and more and India is already getting huge, growing more and more and in India it's already getting huge. I think it's going to be huge in India, to be honest, because if you look at the sheer amount of population there and some inevitable challenges that a country will have when population is growing and the space is, of course, limited because that's it, that's the space Having people live together and share more is almost a necessity, and doing that in a way that adds value, as opposed to taking value away from people because they have to give up things.
Daniel:Adding value through co-living, by getting people together around some common values or interests, adding convenience, adding community, adding potentially affordability in some cases as well, by pooling and sharing resources there's definitely an advantage. So I'm not surprised that co-living is growing in pretty much every continent, pretty much every part of the world, and therefore I'm sure we'll be seeing more and more exotic locations in some cases I'm sure we'll be seeing more and more exotic locations. In some cases, especially just to tie this back with the first suite you mentioned, with remote work, there'll be areas where historically, not a lot of people wanted to live in because, you know what? There's nothing happening there. But now, thanks to this opportunity to work remotely from rural areas as well, there'll be a lot more co-living spaces in areas that were almost forgotten by civilization in some cases, and at the same time, in bigger cities and pretty much every area, there's definitely space for co-living. So, yes, absolutely. What do you think?
Gareth:Yeah, I think you've almost psychically predicted what the next tweet is going to be, because the next tweet is an example of co-living that has medieval heritage in folkstad in norway. This is on the west coast of norway, quite again quite remote. This is a nomad's days tweet. And, um, the tweet says it's for digital nomads who appreciate spectacular nature in 1000 years of history. Interestingly, they talk about how the speed of the internet connection Dan in the tweet as well. And they do have a very good co-working space apparently. So, yeah, there's an example of another one from medieval Norway. So I think, yeah, I totally agree with you.
Gareth:Co-living is definitely an international phenomena and it's spreading around the world in places you wouldn't even think about. And this comes to the very last tweet, which is from Lozlan Lutesky and he says did you know that we're building the world's first digital nomad village in the heart of Bulgaria's mountains? Together with a hundred other nomads, we're creating co-living Semkovo, a 200 plus unit community driven co-op aiming to create a utopia for remote workers and teams. So this kind of again sounds like a co-living, co-working hybrid project. But the scale of this one sounds quite big. And this is in the heart of Bulgaria. Yeah, super interesting. That's a sort of larger scale development Dan Community-driven co op as well, which has parallels with what we do at Co-Living DAO.
Daniel:Yeah, that's great to hear. I've been following the development not as closely as I could have, but certainly I met Matthias who's behind the development. Not as closely as I could have, but certainly I met Matthias who's behind the project, and he even invited me to speak on his podcast. It was probably about a year, year and a half ago and I remember seeing what they've done in Bulgaria.
Daniel:Bulgaria is a country with a lot of potential. There's some benefits living there, some tax advantages for foreigners moving to Bulgaria as well Potentially check with your tax advisor, but I know taxation is more favorable there compared to some other countries and there's some lifestyle benefits as well. Country has a lot to offer. So one of the advantages in this particular setup is that you could live in a country where maybe you don't know the language, maybe you don't know anyone, but, being in a co-living space, you already have an instant network. So for digital nomads living in a country, that is not too expensive compared to most EU countries or, let's say, schengen countries. Right, if you want to compare Bulgaria with all the other Schengen countries, it's probably the least expensive in terms of cost of life, or one of the least expensive, which means that for people that are truly location independent, living in a place like Bulgaria can definitely present some advantages. It's not the only option, of course, but definitely a viable option.
Daniel:Now having a co-op, I think it's a great idea because, again, we're bringing in the element of ownership, and I remember having this conversation on Living, a Shemkovo podcast, where we're talking about exactly the concept of ownership and I want to refer. If people are interested, you can find that on their Facebook page. So if you're interested in that particular interview I was interviewed there you can find that on their Facebook page. And what happened in this particular type of setup is that there is an element of ownership and there's an element of shared decision making as well, but, at the same time, there isn't a huge pressure on having to lead the project because the operator and developer is already doing most of the heavy lifting. So definitely a project to keep on the radar.
Gareth:Yeah, super interesting. And when I look back at those tweets, it's interesting to see that a lot of them are in quite remote places. So this one's in the heart of Bulgaria's mountains. We had rural Spain, we had Bari in Italy, yeah, and the medieval Norwegian location as well. So there does seem to be a bit of a trend there where there's an attempt to sort of fuse and integrate some of the better aspects of co-working with co-living and to bring together lifestyle benefits and well-being benefits along with work and travel. So it's a really cool way to bring all these things together. And that's what's been going on in the last couple of months on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Daniel:Yeah, and I think a lot of people are tired of the city Twitter, yeah, and I think a lot of people are tired of the city, but the answer is not only to go to rural places. The answer is also urban co-living. So it's really, it's very interesting. It's two nearly opposite ways with a big common denominator, which is co-living, that address the same issue in a way Like why would people live in a co-living space in a rural area? Because they don't want to live in the city and they want to be closer to nature, and they're probably tired of living in a city where it's very impersonal, it's very dispersive, it takes forever to go from one place to another, there's pollution. It depends on the city, of course, but I can relate For a lot of people living in London, including myself, like going on public transport and really being surrounded by a lot of people with whom you probably will never you'll never have a meaningful interaction. For some people it's be dehumanizing and I feel a lot of people feel that pressure. However, the answer is not only rural co-living, which is one of the answers, especially if you want to be closer to nature, but urban co-living, which is one of the answers, especially if you want to be closer to nature.
Daniel:But urban co-living is also addressing the very same issue, because being in a co-living space in a big city combines the advantages of a big city with all the opportunities it has to offer.
Daniel:And even if you think professionally, let's say, the amount of networking that is possible in the big city, just being closer to the big companies, being closer to big thinkers conferences this is something that a rural area is not going to replace anytime soon, unless we go completely digital, which might happen one day, but we're talking about not so near future. But if we go completely digital as a society, we can somehow envision that. But in the meantime, big cities still have an advantage when it comes to that. But at the same time, being in a co-living space with a lot of familiar people around people you can interact with, people that are kind of part of the same family, to an extent part of the same community, and having the opportunity not to have to travel miles and miles every single day just to go to a social event, because you have people already in your very home. So that is a massive advantage to you. So I think rural and urban co-living arrangements are definitely addressing this factor, and they will both grow as we go along.
Gareth:I agree, dan. I think it'd be kind of fun to mix it up as well live in a big city co-living, and then you could move at some point in the future and sample rural co-living and see what they're both. Both of them are going to be very different experiences, but both of them would have some unique benefits that you can't obtain by going to the other one.
Daniel:What's interesting is it is effectively possible to envision a future with multiple co-living spaces where people can live in the city, let's say, most of the time or some of the time, and then also be able to access co-living spaces more rurally, maybe spend some months every year, some weeks, depending on personal preferences, where people can really enjoy the advantages of co-living both in urban and rural spaces throughout the whole year.
Gareth:Absolutely. And the unique aspect of the co-living DAO model is that we're building a federation of co-living communities and each co-living is its own independent, autonomous community. So you could, for example, live in a co-living DAO big city community for six months and then decide you know what? I'm going to move to a co-living DAO community that's in a rural location, and that process would be far more seamless than what it would be if you were moving from one random co-living community to another random co-living community, because you would need to go through lots of bureaucratic paperwork and make all the changes necessary. But the beauty of our model and co-living DAO, the federation model, is that you can potentially move from one community to another quite seamlessly with a kind of digital passport style arrangement.
Daniel:Exactly, that is one of the things that we're building. So that's very, very exciting and there's definitely a trend that we've identified there, the trend being co-living itself is a trend, but also just trends within co-living. So something we mentioned is, yes, people working remotely and so on. But what I would love to do is talk a little bit more about trends, and, in fact, I'm using here as a reference an article. This article was published a few months ago, the very end of 2023, just late December 2023. Published a few months ago, the very end of 2023, just late December 2023. And this article is called Co-Living Trends in 2024. It's on co-livingcom, and here on co-livingcom, what they did, effectively just as the new year was approaching, was identifying what the new trends could be within co-living in 2024. So, gareth, are you up for a chat on co-living new trends in 2024?
Gareth:Yeah, I'm interested to see what you're going to bring to the table. Let's go. Is it going to be rural co-living, by any chance?
Daniel:Let's see. Let's see. I mean there's definitely a lot of trends and probably the article is not going to encompass all of them just because there's so many. But let's see one of the most significant trends in 2024, and I'm reading the article here is the integration of technology into co-living spaces, and this paragraph is called the Rise of Tech-Enabled Living Spaces. The rise of tech-enabled living spaces. Smart home technologies such as automated lighting, heating and security systems are becoming standard. These advancements not only enhance the comfort and convenience of residents, but also promote energy efficiency and sustainability. Moreover, apps and platforms designed specifically for co-living communities are on the rise. These digital tools facilitate communication among residents, manage shared resources and even organize community events. They are transforming co-living spaces into more cohesive, interactive communities. Gareth, what do you think about the rise of tech-enabled living spaces?
Gareth:Super interesting, dan. Yeah, okay, so I have. I'm going to come at this from two angles. First of all, I'm a technology advocate, so I'm a firm believer and we at CoLivingDAO are a firm believer in the power and the benefit of technologies and using new technologies to help people live better lives, essentially, and there are so many benefits. You know.
Gareth:You mentioned the heating, automatic heating and lighting systems, monitoring systems. Again, that relates to environmental sustainability, because if you have very good systems, you can start to optimize your heating and your lighting. You can reduce unnecessary energy wastage. You could maybe, even if rooms were not in use, the system could automatically cool them down, or, you know, not heat them, not cool them, saving huge amounts of energy, which is great for the environment. And so there are so many benefits. You can even have, you know, digital locks and access systems so you can easily move around the building as a resident with your key pass, and a whole bunch of other benefits. But, of course, technology is double-sided, right, every technology has a dark side, and so some people will be concerned that these technologies could be used to monitor or track them, and you know that that and that is a legitimate concern. And, yeah, what do you think about that? There's this double-edged nature of technology where, yeah, we recognize there are huge benefits, but there's also this dark side of control and loss of autonomy, potentially.
Daniel:Yeah, that's an interesting one because, because, first of all, we already tracked quite a lot. I mean, if you think about the amount of time we spend online and all these cookies and permissions even there and agreements that we make, sometimes most people don't even realize what they're agreeing to, and then they're like, oh, what's going on Facebook and YouTube? They know everything about me. Like, of course, because you get consent in the first place, but then it's just the nature of this social media and the digital age to an extent. So we already tracked a lot.
Daniel:So, certainly, adding more tracking, we would have to see, like, how significant that is compared to what's already tracked of our life. But, yeah, I think there's definitely a factor in there. So, becoming more knowledgeable about privacy, becoming more knowledgeable on what we're really agreeing to and also what data can be used against us and what cannot, and what data can actually be used in our favor. Some people may argue hey, if they know my habits, they can propose services that are effectively more suitable to me, so there might even be an advantage to some people. So it's really about understanding is something going to benefit my life or is something going to abuse against me? So it's a very vast and big topic, but it's definitely something to to think about gareth yeah, and I have.
Gareth:I agree with you, dan. You know you had. There is a bit of give and take. In all of these situations where you interact with technology there is a bit of give and take. I think one of the main things that makes it swing in towards more benefits and less sort of surveillance and tracking is the nature of the company right. So if you're living in a benevolent co-living environment, and especially one where your residents are co-owners, as in the co-living dial model, then that changes the nature of the power dynamic, because the data is being collected but you actually have more control over it because you're a co-owner, and so the whole setup becomes much more community focused and the technologies are used for the benefit of all stakeholders in the community and there's a lot more trust. So I'm a big fan. To sum up, I'm a big fan of technology-driven solutions, provided they are designed and co-created with the main users that are going to get the benefits from them, ie the residents and the co-living community.
Daniel:Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, the last thing you want is to create some sort of big brother type of living arrangement where there is effectively a third party, a separate organization that collecting that data on yourself and sharing that with your community so that you can all know each other better and benefit the community Ultimately. That is the whole point. So when you have an arrangement like that, which is what we're creating at Co-Living DAO, definitely the whole framework is different and by being a co-owner, shareholder with governance rights, it's a lot easier to have a say in what actually happens to the data. And again, I'm not in favor of tracking things that don't need to be tracked. I mean, we don't need to know everything about everyone. I think privacy is a big thing we might be talking about that later on as well, because the importance of private space and private information is certainly undeniable. At the same time, if we can track some parameters, if we can track things that can effectively benefit the community, why not do that? So let's find a way to do it without really having to overstep personal boundaries. So having a community where you're a co-owner and you're in charge to a large extent, that can really change the game and talking about.
Daniel:We mentioned, obviously, tech, and I think I used the word sustainability and I'm sure you've picked on that one. I'm sure you want to say something about sustainability. But the next trend that we have here in this article Co-Living Trends in 2024 by co-livingcom is sustainable and eco-friendly designs. Sustainability is a key driver in the evolution of co-livingcom is sustainable and eco-friendly designs. Sustainability is a key driver in the evolution of co-living spaces In 2024, we are witnessing a surge in eco-friendly designs and practices. This includes the use of renewable energy sources, green building materials and waste reduction strategies. Co-living spaces are not just about living together. They are about living responsibly and sustainably. Many co-living facilities are also incorporating green spaces, such as communal gardens or rooftop terraces, which contribute to the well-being of residents and the environment. These spaces provide areas for relaxation, socialization and even urban farming, aligning with a growing interest in sustainable living practices. Gareth, I know this is your topic.
Gareth:I love this, dan. I'm so happy that this is a major trend for 2024. And co-living, yeah, fantastic. I mean, there's so many opportunities to add to nature and enhance nature and reduce environmental impact in the way that we live. And if you start with the home, that is so powerful. It's such a powerful place to start because your home is your shelter, right? So when I think about environmental sustainability, I don't think about nature being this abstract thing out there that doesn't relate to us. Nature is actually essential for our survival. So you need clean air, we need clean water, we need good food and that's a big part of environmental sustainability. And it all relates back to our homes and our shelters and where we live.
Gareth:And in a co-living space, you know, because you can have a number of people in the same space. Then there's efficiency gains you can do things more efficiently. You have things on your doorstep. So there's the concept of the 15-minute city, where you might not have to travel much. For most of the things you do on a daily basis, you can work from home. If you've got a good co-working space, you might have a nice gym. You might even have a nice garden or a park right on the doorstep of the co-living community, and all of these things can be enhanced by the community itself. So yeah, amazing trend.
Gareth:So give a few examples and frame it off the top of my head. First of all, you want to move to renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So co-living powered by solar and wind fantastic. Second of all, we spoke about the tweet before about the co-living in Italy, where they make their own furniture, bring in circular economy elements, reduce waste, reusing materials and reducing our material impact on the planet. The less materials we extract, the less damage we do to the environment. So building the circular economy in. And then the third big bit and you mentioned it there, dan is enhancing blue and green spaces Huge opportunity for co-living spaces to invest in their own green and blue spaces and enhance those of the community around them for other people to enjoy. And when people's wellbeing is higher because they have nice green and blue spaces around, everyone benefits. So enhancing the environment really has huge benefits for everyone involved. So here at Co-Living Dial we really want to embed that and make sure that's part of the blueprint.
Daniel:Absolutely. That's a great point and, yes, that's a big part of what we are doing. Let's move on to the next trend, which is flexible and adaptive spaces. Flexibility is another hallmark in co-living trends in 2024. With the rise of remote work and digital nomadism, co-living spaces are adapting to cater to a more mobile population. This means offering short-term leases and designing spaces that can easily be reconfigured to suit different needs and preferences. Adaptive furniture, modular design, are becoming commonplace in co-living environments. These innovations allow residents to personalize their living spaces without the need for extensive renovation, catering to the dynamic and transient nature of modern urban living. Gareth, any thoughts on flexible and adaptive spaces?
Gareth:I love this too because for me, when I hear flexible and adaptive, I think of autonomy and personal autonomy to be flexible and adaptive in the way that I live right. And so for co-living residents to have the spaces and the autonomy to change the function of spaces and be adaptable enables them to really take control of their own lives and use those spaces to their advantage. So this is a really cool trend too, and again it relates to, yeah, autonomy and having control over your own life. So think of a concrete example If you have a space in a co-living that is mainly a co-working space and let's say you know this is a huge, well-kitted-out space, but often the case after 6 pm, not many people are working.
Gareth:Sure, there are some that work late or they want to work different time zone, hours and stuff like that, but potentially you could take one of those co-working spaces and enable it to be configured into a social space, say after 6pm, and maybe keep a reserved, smaller co-working space for people that want to work late into the night or 24-7.
Gareth:And so you have the potential to turn what would be a dead space late at night into a lively social space that could be used for events and so on, and if you could make it so that the furniture is super configurable and very easy to change. Maybe, you know, maybe desks fold away and sofas come out of of the walls or some sort of cabinets, that'd be amazing. And you turn the whole thing into a social space and you designate it a social zone at different hours or different days, maybe at the weekend, for example, and that helps the, the co-living operators, because you know use utilizing space more effectively. You could even commercialize some spaces, hire them out for events, and the more configurable they are, the more modular they are, the easier it is to do that done yeah, I think flexibility is definitely a way to go.
Daniel:I think multi-purpose spaces are going to be more and more popular. One thing you mentioned is very important yes, of course, monetizing I mean a lot of colony spaces and I see that happen over and over again a lot of colony spaces. If, if they're not really getting the most of the space, sometimes they might not even survive. Or even if they can survive, why not have an additional budget to really benefit the community? So monetizing the space is a thing, but also simply serving the community with a space that can be reconfigured based on the needs and the specifics of every event or type of social occasion that you want to host in that particular space. And the other thing is the flexibility in terms of lifestyle.
Daniel:I think it's so important right now to understand that the new generations they don't necessarily want to be tied to one city, one rural space with just one location all year long. So flexibility is so important. Whether people want to be traveling, whether people want to change the place they live every few months, every couple of years. It's so important. So, yeah, we're definitely going to see more and more of this, gareth.
Gareth:You can also have flexibility in your own room in a co-living space, so a highly modular, adaptable room. You know, some co-living spaces, particularly in big cities, are a bit smaller just because of the expense of the square meterage, and in big cities there's a much higher price, so the rooms are sometimes a bit smaller to make them more financially effective for the operator. But if you have a highly adaptable, modular space where you can, you know, fold your bed out or fold it away when you're not sleeping, or the bed becomes a sofa, or you have some, you know, really well-designed hidden away storage units and you can, you know, put a bike inside or you can store things away. That's a really cool use of space as well. So the modular control and adaptability can really extend all the way into your own private room.
Daniel:That's a great point. Yeah, absolutely. That's something that I'm sure we'll be seeing more and more of, and I'm going to bring one more trend. There's actually more, but for the sake of time as well, I'm going to refer everyone to the article. If you want to read more about co-living trends in 2024, go to co-livingcom and you'll find the article there. What co-livingcom mentions about trends. We're going to see one more trend, and it's something that, to an extent, we've already touched upon, but it's important to see that it's a standalone trend as well. It's not just a consequence of many of the other things we mentioned, and it's important to see that it's a standalone trend as well. It's not just a consequence of many of the other things we mentioned, and it's community and wellness-centric approaches.
Daniel:Co-living in 2024 places a strong emphasis on community and wellness. These spaces are designed to foster social interactions and support networks among residents. Communal areas such as kitchens, lounges and co-working spaces are central to these designs, encouraging residents to connect and collaborate. Wellness programs, including fitness classes, meditation sessions and mental health workshops, are increasingly being offered within co-living communities. These initiatives reflect a growing recognition of the importance of holistic well-being in shared living environments. Gareth, I know we had actually an entire episode of this podcast with Claudie Bell, I think, about community building, but also we mentioned a lot of elements of well-being and we spoke about this in many episodes. But what do you think about this as a trend? What do you?
Gareth:think about this as a trend. Really seeing where we are right now with co-living and seeing the trend of more and more co-living spaces offering more and more well-being initiatives and opportunities within the space, I think it's a great development and I really really love this as well. But it does kind of point to what's going on in wider society, right. I think people are under a lot of pressure in in different jobs and different professions, is under economic pressure with them, you know, higher competition and all sorts of things going on around the world. So there is a. There is a kind of downside as to what the driver is for all the well-being initiatives, but I love it and I think for holistic well-being.
Gareth:Just being in a co-living in the first place is actually probably really good for your mental well-being because you have a community or a potential community on your doorstep. And then for me, layering on the events is a way to facilitate people in the co-living to meet each other and get those social benefits. So just being in a community and being in a co-living for me is the first step. To you know, this is a massive uplift in mental well-being and people being able to connect with others in community and people being able to connect with others and community. Because the worst thing is probably living on your own in an apartment in a big city where you know nobody and you're under a lot of pressure to work, you know, 10, 11, 12 hours a day. If you're in super high pressure professional environment and you just don't have that switch off and there's no community to go into and you have to then expend a lot of energy to go and meet people, for example, after you've worked for 10 hours a day.
Daniel:So yeah, having the community in the doorstep and makes makes absolute sense to then layer on the events and the well-being initiatives that people can connect with yeah, we had a very interesting conversation on well-being and happiness and fun with steve surge on this podcast as well, for everyone who wants to go and check it out. And I think, yes, you're right, it's a general trend, it's not just unique to co-living. The importance of well-being has been widely recognized. We live in a society with a growing incidence of mental health disorders and issues in general and depression and simply I mean not just talking about clinical depression, but people really suffering from whether it's a mental health condition or whether it simply is sadness. Again, it's nothing wrong with feeling sad, nothing wrong with feeling upset or demotivated every now and then, but there's no need to really indulge in this type of kind of lack of well-being if there is a better way, and the better way is to simply take care of someone's well-being. If there is a better way and the better way is to simply take care of someone's well-being, and the best way to do that is, first of all, being in a community, just like you mentioned, being with people around, because we are social beings.
Daniel:We're not designed to live alone, and I understand that our society has somewhat glorified this idea of being alone as having higher status, but in reality, it doesn't work that way. In reality, people are happier when they have people around and, on top of that, having dedicated events where, by focusing on one aspect of well-being whether it's meditation, whether it's yoga, whether it's nutrition, whether it's something else that can definitely help people have a much better lifestyle and just feel better. Because, at the end of the day, what we want to do is be happy, and if we identify what makes people, let's say in general, more likely to be happy, why not pursue that particular path? Why not enjoy the benefits of being happy by focusing on all these activities that are proven, even scientifically and empirically as well, to have a positive impact on people's well-being?
Gareth:Yeah, dan, and the variety of events is fantastic the well-being, nutrition, etc. There can be a little bit of an odd sort of dynamic with those things where people are then competing to see who can be the most fit and the most well individual, and I think it's nice to be able to dip in and out and sample what's right for you as a person and just connect with the community. For me, that's where the main benefit is, rather than trying to have a perfect diet, a perfect fitness regime, meditate for three hours every day. It can be a little bit intense too, but the beauty of being in a space where there's lots of different events is you can pick and choose and go into the ones you want to do and then, just you know, hang out with people and go to social events as well, which is really important for wellbeing.
Daniel:Absolutely so, gareth. We've touched upon multiple aspects, a few trends that we identify, also based on the article by co-livingcom, and also you had some very interesting tweets, very recent tweets that really can give a good flavor of where the co-living industry is going in 2024 and beyond. So I think that was a very fun and insightful conversation in many ways. Any final thoughts for our audience here at Co-Living DAO? Of course we are closely looking at what's happening in the space and also working on creating a concept that can really embrace all these strengths in a way that can benefit people in the best possible way. So, gareth, any final thoughts?
Gareth:Yeah, I think it was fun, dan, to look at what's happening around the world and look at these co-livings that are appearing in rural places and in big cities. There's a lot of energy in the scene and we spoke many times before about the events and social benefits. It's good to know that the trends are really in line with the things that we care about as well environmental sustainability, having control, using advanced technologies for the good of the community. All of this stuff is is relevant and and all is a part of the blueprint for co-living dao and and we're bringing all these elements together. So the co-living dao is a part of the blueprint for co-living DAO and we're bringing all these elements together. So the co-living DAO is a federation for anyone that hasn't listened to our previous podcast federation of co-living communities, each community with its own unique character, and so he really brings in the best of all these different worlds and brings in all of these trends to bear for the benefits of the community. You know, it's good to see what's happening and, yeah, let's keep.
Daniel:Let's keep moving and going with it absolutely so great to have this uh conversation with you. Garth, thanks everyone for being here. Uh, at co-living doubt insights and uh, what we'd love to do is to have you here back again every week, as we will be back. So make sure you subscribe to this podcast, make sure you stick around and check out co-livingdowio if you want to find out more about what we're building here at co-livingdow, and see you again next week.