Progressive Nostalgia in Novel Living Arrangements: A Counterpoint to Neo-traditional New Urbanism?

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between a desire to create novel living arrangements and yearning for a ‘better’ past. It is argued that a critical engagement with nostalgia can be used to open up issues of historical persistence and ambiguity. The paper draws on exploratory analysis carried out on examples of three emerging forms of residential space (the new urbanism, home zones and cohousing). The paper seeks to identify the contradictions and paradoxes that can be found in the material development of neo-traditional homes and communities. In contrast to dismissive or purely instrumental approaches, the analysis reveals the diverse and ambivalent ways in which nostalgia resides at the heart of belonging and attachment. In sum, the aim is both to expand the debate on novel living arrangements and to promote greater openness and honesty in acknowledging the role of attachments to the past in refiguring new forms of urban co-existence.