Globally, people use roofs to dry out food, do their laundry and sleep. In Belfast, where we’re based, there's a culture of enjoying looking down on the city from up high, because it's in a valley. But because we were a conflict area for a long time, many people didn’t want to live, work or hang out in the city, and our roofs cape has been neglected.

Rooftop projects can be as big or as small as you want. They can be used as social or cultural spaces, for green or blue public facilities. But it's not just about commercial opportunities; it can be as simple as an individual turning his/her city balcony into a mini garden or vegetable patch. It's not just about doing it on a rooftop because it's "cool". It's about giving up the deep-rooted thought that roofs are off limits and embracing their challenges as opportunities. That can make a huge difference. For instance, we're helping turn the rooftop car park of a city central shopping centre into an outdoor space for employees, due to restrictions they now face indoors because of COVID-19.

Using rooftops creatively allows us to cope with many of the challenges faced by cities today--be those environmental, social, technological, or cultural. At the moment, we're being forced to rethink how we use public spaces due to COVID-19. With lots of restrictions on enclosed areas, we should be acknowledging rooftops as viable alternatives. For example, Rotterdam recently hosted a play that took place across its rooftops. Each roof lit up and hosted a different part of the drama, while residents sat and watched, listening to the action through headphones.

Are there any challenges? Rain is one. Also is health and safety. But there are creative and practical solutions to all the barriers we face. In fact, the challenges are what make rooftops so exciting----because they give you even more opportunities to be creative and solve problems. It is always a matter of trial and error.

Roughly the size of a soda can, sitting on a bookshelf, a relatively harmless device may be turning friends away from your home. The elephant in your living room is your Internet-connected camera, a device people are increasingly using for peace of mind in their homes. But few stop to think about the effect these devices may have on house guests. Should you tell your friends, for instance, that they’re being recorded while you all watch the big game together?

“It’s certainly new territory (领地), especially as home security cameras become easier to fix,” says Lizzie Post, president of the Emily Post Institute, America’s distinguished manners advisors. “I think it will be very interesting to see what manners appear in terms of whether you tell people you have a camera or not, and whether guests have a right to ask that it be turned off, if it’s not a security issue.” Post wants to make clear that she’s not talking about legal rights, but rather personal preference.

When it comes to security cameras, Post says it’s a host’s responsibility to make sure guests feel comfortable within their home. If the host casually acknowledges that there is a camera in the room by telling a story about, it that may be enough to provide an opening for a guest to say if they are uncomfortable.

However, if a contractor (合约工) is working in your home, you don’t need to tell them that there are cameras watching. Then again, the camera can also work in contractors’ favor. “If anything does go wrong while they’re in the house, they don’t want to be blamed for it,” she says. “In fact, the camera could be the thing that proves that they didn’t steal the $20, or knock the vase off the table.”

Scott and Daniel Harry are enjoying everyday tasks like shopping and washing for the first time following their move to an accommodation (住宿) support house in Kurwongbah, north of Brisbane last year.

Disability Services Queensland’s Strengthening Non-Government Organisations project provided an accommodation support model that would enable residents (居住者) like Daniel and Scott to live more independently.

The house is just one of many accommodation support services funded (资助) through the project. The five-bedroom house provides 24-hour care for up to four individuals with complex needs, including medical support. Care and staffing levels are varied and flexible, depending on each resident’s requirements.

Scott and Daniel, who have a severe form of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, require 24-hour support in all activities of daily living. Before they moved to the house, they lived with their family. Scott says living at home was difficult as it placed a physical and emotional strain (负担) on their parents who had to wake them several times each night to reposition them or place them on breathing machines.

“We were heavyhearted,” says Scott, who is planning to write a book about his life experiences. “But our parents now have a lot more time for themselves. We now manage ourselves on a day-to-day basis.”

Daniel is an enthusiastic gardener, taking care of his own vegetable garden. The men share the house with one other young man, and they go to rugby league games, meeting up with friends.

Leeding Care Australia provides the care service at Kurwongbah. Manager Lee Garniss says setting up the facilities (设施) has not been without its challenges.

“It is an unconventional model of care,” Lee says. “The home is Scott and Daniel’s home, however it is also a workplace for their support staff. Balancing these two requirements has been a challenge for all.”

“We have experienced a bit of a learning phase over the last twelve months. However, by working as a team we try our best to meet the needs of both residents and staff and I think we have achieved the right balance.”