Housing: creative solutions

  Progress has been a simple equation: economic growth measured by GDP. The endless upward climb promised solutions to everything from poverty to pollution. But the reality hasn't lived up to the promise. It's time to redefine progress before the changing climate becomes irreversible. The Allure of Growth Growth is appealing. We see it in thriving gardens and children reaching their full potential. No wonder we embraced it as the economic ideal, adopting the "more is better" mantra. Yet, nature teaches us that endless growth is unsustainable. Everything eventually reaches maturity, focusing on health and well-being rather than constant expansion. As Janine Benyus, a pioneer in biomimicry , reminds us, trees prioritise distributing resources to their entire being, stopping growth once that function is compromised. The Growth Addiction Cheap fossil fuels in the 20th century fueled rapid growth, which became ingrained in our economic systems. This has led to policies – ...

Following the debate about how many houses are needed in the UK, industry-expert Peter Brown directs our attention to a topic this argument could be overshadowing. The debate around how many new homes are  needed  misjudges the big issue – a new Labour government will struggle to increase housing completions for sale and for rent. Public services are failing, satisfaction rates are at record lows and waiting lists are soaring. Focusing on hospitals, schools and the courts,  the IPPR  claimed that public services won’t return to acceptable levels of quality until the 2030s and that the post-election government will inherit one of the most challenging contexts of any government since the Second World War. In October, at the Labour Party conference Keir Starmer’s pledged 1.5 million homes over the next parliament and conference was  told  that a Labour government will “deliver the biggest boost in affordable and social housing for a generation”. Yet despite a ...