August 26, 2026 18:00

Could we live differently in our cities?

Exploring urban-based communal living
A Totelly mini-conference

26 August · 18:00–20:00
Venue: To be announced

What might our cities look like if we thought differently about how we live together?

Join us for a Totelly evening exploring urban communal living — bringing together international perspectives, local projects and an open conversation about alternative ways of creating home, connection and community within our cities.

Rather than a traditional lecture, the evening will take the form of a small, informal conference: a guest presentation, short contributions from local initiatives, followed by an open panel where the audience is invited into the conversation.

Guest speaker — Taisa Mattos

We are delighted to welcome Taisa Mattos, Board Member of the International Communal Studies Association (ICSA).

Taisa will bring an international perspective to the evening, helping us explore experiences and ideas around communal and intentional living and what we might learn from communities elsewhere.

Local ideas. Local projects.

Alongside our guest speaker, we want to hear about what is happening closer to home.

We are inviting a small number of local projects and initiatives to give short presentations during the evening.

These might include projects exploring:

communal and intentional living
co-housing and co-living
community-led housing
shared spaces and resources
intergenerational living
neighbourhood initiatives
other approaches to living more collectively in an urban environment

Projects don't need to be finished or established. We are equally interested in ideas being tested, communities taking shape and projects still finding their way.

Working on something that belongs in this conversation? Get in touch with Totelly about presenting.

The evening

Guest talk
An international perspective with Taisa Mattos · ICSA

Local project presentations
Short presentations from people exploring new approaches locally

Open panel + audience Q&A
Bring your experiences, ideas and questions into the conversation

Informal conversation
Time to meet, connect and continue the discussion with others in the room

Come curious

You don't need to live communally — or even know whether you would want to.

This evening is for anyone curious about how we live, what we share, how communities form, and whether our cities could offer more possibilities for living together.