Bricolage in Collaborative Housing in Finland: Combining Resources for Alternative Housing Solutions

Finnish collaborative housing projects are in an experimental stage. These projects are trying to push the conventional practices of housing production into a new shape in order to realize their schemes in the housing market dominated by large construction companies. This paper aims to shed light on the resident groups’ resources in a context where resident-driven projects are rare. We apply the concept of bricolage to analyse three collaborative housing projects in Finland. Our analysis highlights that the residents refused to enact limitations imposed by the dominant housing market and examines how this was made possible. The cases we studied were successful for two interconnected reasons: (1) because of the capabilities of the residents: and (2) the professional allies they had. We argue that analyses framed by bricolage can help better understand the local contexts with their real and presumed constraints, and offer a possibility for international comparison of collaborative housing.