ABOUT

The cost of property in London is a widely discussed topic amongst disgruntled locals and potential Londoners alike. With the increasingly ludicrous housing costs in and around our beloved capital, the property crisis is showing no signs of slowing. For the majority of Londoners it seems that becoming a homeowner in the near future now seems like a thing of the past.
We wanted to support Shelter’s campaign to build more affordable housing in London. Shelter are a brilliant charity that help millions of people every year struggling with inadequate housing or homelessness in the UK. Through their advice, support and legal services they are attempting to create a better living environment for everyone. By borrowing and tweaking the proverbial expression ‘not enough room to swing a cat,’ we created Catswing, an analysis of how much it costs to purchase enough room to simply swing a feline friend (virtual, of course) within London’s various boroughs. Catswing enables Londoners to enter their post code to find out how much it would cost to swing a cat in their own neighbourhood.
We calculated our findings using the average floor size and cost of property in areas of London, πr², and most importantly, an average-sized tabby. We were then able to construct a visually informative microsite which deftly but meaningfully resonates the farcically overpriced housing market in London; with amazing results. Users can then compare the results to other areas in London, providing an informative yet playful indication of the dire state of housing in London. Most importantly however, users are able to share the site and take further action by signing the Shelter petition for more affordable housing; turning a nice infographic into serious action.
Catswing received a fantastic amount of positive feedback. In the months leading up to the 2015 general elections it received around 25,000 hits. As a result, over 2000 people pursued more information by visiting Shelter’s petition; with around 25% committing their signatures to the cause. Catswing was also featured in a variety of publications including Time Out, Metro, Evening Standard, The Mirror, Dazed, and It’s Nice That.