In this introductory episode, we discuss the origins of Closer to Home, the core ideas behind the podcast, and a number of other things which are at least tangentially associated with the core concept:

• Beyond housing supply: A stable sense of home is not the same as having a roof over your head. It's more than shelter, it’s about belonging, security, and the freedom to thrive.
• Home vs. housing crisis: We ask whether we face not just a housing shortage, but a deeper home crisis — a cultural drift toward instability and rootlessness and the marginalisation of our emotional and psychological needs.
• Emotional and social dimensions: Home is an emotional space as well as a material one. Yet policy and practice can sometimes reduce it to data points, neglecting what people actually experience.
• Shifting values: From post-war stability to housing-as-investment - has our cultural imagination of home has been reshaped, sometimes at the expense of community and collective wellbeing?
• Control vs. flow: Home is an open system, one which is full of spontaneity, chance encounters, and a degree of vulnerability. Attempts to optimise home using metrics or rigid processes may fail to hit the mark.
• A collective conversation: Home is personal, but also social. We want to open up space for reflection, challenge, and imagination rather than rushing to superficial fixes.

This is an expedition into the many meanings of home. We’d love others to join the conversation!

This episode references the following publications, which can be downloaded
Absalom, H. (2024) Home Encounters: Understanding and Improving the Emotional Impact of Home Visits. Download here.
Absalom, H. (2023) Rethinking Regulated Housing in England: Home as an emotional place. Download here.