How people currently think and talk
We all use mental shortcuts to make sense of the world that we live in. Over time we create shared understandings (sometimes called shared mental models or mindsets) of how the world works. These shared understandings underpin how we interact, influence how we consume information, and impact the decisions and actions we take. We’re often not aware of how our mindsets influence who we trust and listen to, what facts and evidence we believe and what solutions might work better.
Our information environment and the way we communicate informs and influences our shared mindsets. Narratives are patterns of words and images that create meaning in our communications. They are how we express our current shared mindsets and can be used to shape different ways to understand the world.
By paying attention to the dominant narratives (the most commonly experienced patterns of information) about an issue we can gain insight into how people think and reason about that issue. Often our shared mindsets and dominant narratives mean people have a shallow or unhelpful way of understanding homes and their impact on wellbeing. To encourage support and demand for change we need to deepen understanding and shift thinking towards evidence-based policies and actions.
Unhelpful thinking about decent homes to avoid
There are some common unhelpful ways the public thinks about home health that are brought to the surface by how decent homes are talked about in the public (public narratives). To avoid surfacing this unhelpful thinking, we need to avoid using such narratives. Think of them as traps to navigate around.
Unhelpful thinking about healthy homes
Examples of public narratives that surface this unhelpful thinking
Why this way of talking is unhelpful
Unhelpful thinking:
Health individualism — our health is determined (primarily) by individual behaviour and choices
Examples of public narratives that surface this unhelpful thinking
“People just need to prioritise heating their homes” Or…
“The problem is people don’t know how to look after their homes – they just need to open the windows each day”
Why this way of talking is unhelpful
Unhelpful thinking:
Health (and ill-health) become an issue once people turn up at the GP or hospital and that is when we start intervening
Examples of public narratives that surface this unhelpful thinking
“On average 1 in 80 children are hospitalised in Wellington region every year for housing-related illnesses.”
Why this way of talking is unhelpful
This emphasises thinking that health is something that happens in hospitals, and not something that can be built before people become ill.
Unhelpful thinking:
Housing is largely defined as an asset class vs homes that are a social good and human right.
Examples of public narratives that surface this unhelpful thinking
“Warmer and drier homes are less likely to have issues with mould or mildew damage, which better protects a landlord’s investment.”
Why this way of talking is unhelpful
Frames home health as an economic issue rather than a social issue. This is likely to activate an economic framing that then leads people to solutions focused on the economic outcome (eg. landlord can clean/ repair/ paint over mould when a new tenant/buyer is needed so that fixes the problem)
Unhelpful thinking:
Examples of public narratives that surface this unhelpful thinking
“We all coped with cold houses growing up – we just knew how to manage them. It’s going to be impossible to make every home warm enough to fit some abstract standard. We just can’t afford it.”
Why this way of talking is unhelpful
An example of fatalism, i.e. it is too big/ has always been this way – which makes it hard for people to see solutions (and obscures the facts around how the problem DID impact people in the past, we just didn’t talk about it).
Unhelpful thinking:
The idea that ours is a special case and therefore too big or special a problem to solve.
Examples of public narratives that surface this unhelpful thinking
“If we regulate landlords to ensure rental homes are healthy, this will reduce supply of rental homes as landlords will stop renting out homes”
Why this way of talking is unhelpful
Activates unhelpful (and unsupported by evidence) ‘Us vs Them’, Zero-sum game narratives
Unhelpful thinking:
Legislating / regulating for homes that are healthy is in competition with enabling housing supply
Examples of public narratives that surface this unhelpful thinking
Why this way of talking is unhelpful
Helpful thinking about decent homes to surface
There are many existing ways of talking about decent homes that can deepen understanding and build support for evidence-based solutions. These helpful ways of thinking may be less common in our information environment but can be strengthened through repetition by many people and organisations across the sector.
Helpful thinking about decent homes
Examples of narratives that surface this helpful thinking
Why this way of talking is helpful
Helpful thinking:
Our built environment determines our health and wellbeing.
Examples of narratives that surface this helpful thinking
“Our homes have a job to do to care for people across every stage of their lives. When our homes are warm, dry, well ventilated, and support our wellbeing we can all live well. This means being able to get work and get to work, and participate in school and community.”
Why this way of talking is helpful
It highlights the role decent housing has in our health and wellbeing, making the case for decent homes for us all.
Helpful thinking:
Better systems can overcome the significant harm that living in cold, damp homes does for many people.
Examples of public narratives that surface this unhelpful thinking
“We all deserve decent homes that meet our different needs.
By having clear standards of what makes a decent home, we can make sure that everyone has a home that takes care of them across every stage of their lives.
This is the practical and reliable way to ensure that all people can live well and participate at work, in school, and in our communities.”
Why this way of talking is helpful
Framing the system helps people see past individual behaviour to the system level solutions and the people who can act on the solutions that can improve lives for the whole population.
Helpful thinking:
We have the knowledge and capabilities to ensure every New Zealander can live in a decent home.
Examples of narratives that surface this helpful thinking
“We already know how to make sure our homes take care of us at every stage of life.
When the government, developers, councils, designers, and builders work together we can ensure homes are built and renovated to make sure everyone can live life to the full, participating in work, school, and community.
We have already seen this work…[add an example here]”
Why this way of talking is helpful
This strengths-based narrative reminds us that people design the system, and we have the people with knowledge and capability that can make decent homes a reality for us all.
