8 March 2013
A university lecturer hopes to develop a better understanding of who has access to self building, as a viable option, with which to build a home.
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Dr. Michaela Benson, lecturer in Sociology at the University of York, is looking for those who have, or are thinking about, achieving a self build project to complete an online survey on self building in Britain. It’s hoped that the results will shed new light on the type of people who can make self building a reality. Additionally, the various pitfalls that befall any self builder might also be revealed.
“One of the issues about a lot of housing research that has been done, is that we don’t actually look at instances like self build, which do make up quite a significant proportion of the new housing market”, Dr. Benson said, “Within all of my previous studies, there have been people who have built their own houses that I just haven’t focussed on specifically, although I did notice them and they just always really fascinated me”.
Dr. Benson’s philosophy is that the relationship that a self builder has with their home is slightly different to how other people relate to their home, probably because of the type of investment that they had to make. She also believes that the public image of self build is very much a ‘Grand Designs’ high-end build, although she thinks that this attitude is now changing a little.
“I would be surprised, for example, if the results showed that single people are the majority who would self build,” Dr. Benson added, “because, a lot of the time, I personally believe that a person’s investment in housing is largely influenced by an investment in a family. My view is that self build is something that people are more likely to engage in if they are in a relationship with somebody, for example”.
The survey is due to close at the end of April, with the results collated by September. The plan is to organise a dissemination event with The Self Build Portal’s parent organisation, the National Self Build Association, together with various other interested parties.
