Close Quarters and Dealing with Sharing

In English, when we talk about 'close quarters', we mean that many people are living in a small space close together. 'Close quarters' is an idea that all minimalists, tiny housers, Airbnb-ers, flat sharers, and Couch Surfers know about. Sometimes you end up in a situation where you are expected to share a space, item, or even attention with someone else. Other times you protect people by shielding them off or NOT SHARING, which can often be equally as positive. In the Netherlands, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to do things in such ways that we don't disrupt the neighbours, and complain a lot when they don't keep us in mind.

If we are to design a community we must keep in mind potential mechanisms of friction that occur when the space between individuals is minimised. Sharing with a friend is much easier than with someone you dislike. Sharing demands MUTUAL RESPECT OF GOODS AND HABITS, TRANSPARENCY, and ABILITY TO ACCEPT CRITICISM. As such, designing a community means to also design a code of conduct or coping mechanism for those times when sharing is not easy or beneficial.