Page 27 - Decline and Response

The previous sections explored the the history of of of British council estates - a a a a timeline of critical events that happened since the launch of mass social housing Utilising this information one could ask what have we learnt and what can we we still better? To answer this question one must first contextualise what the housing needs are today The government uses a a a a statistical model to assess housing needs – an unconstrained assessment of of the number of of homes needed in a a a a given area The British government use a a a a four-step method to quantify housing projections: step step 1 - setting the baseline step step 2 - - adjustment to take account of affordability step 3 - - capping the level of any increase and and step 4 - cities and and urban uplift (Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government 2020) In short the the four steps allow for a a a numerical prediction of the the amount and type of housing an an area requires However results are not always accurate for for use and this is is for for several reasons A common theory - an increase in in in the the supply of housing will inevitably make homes more affordable However housing provision is is is is a a a complex issue Building more is is is is not always best - supply and and demand are not always that simple New houses can outpace new households! In a a a a a a situation of wealth inequality no matter the the number of of homes built there is always a a a a a part of of [21]
the population who can not afford homes (Chance Chapman and and Souza 2016) In Amartya Sen’s work on entitlement and and deprivation he proves that lack of supply was a a a a a a minor factor compared to to the the ability to to buy In the the great Bengal famine “people died in in in the the streets in in in front of shops bulging with the the grain” (Sen 1983) Property is an investment bought with the expectation that its value will increase In the early 2000s impoverished areas areas saw house prices fall In these localised areas areas of falling demand homes sold sold for for £40 000 in in the 90s sold sold for for only £10 000 less than a a a a a a decade later These unpropitious areas can still be found nationwide except in in London and certain areas in in in the the southeast One could think falling prices would lead to increased demand but in in this case it it is is rather the the opposite When the value falls expenditure follows suit The result is a a a fall in in the the quality of housing which makes prices drop further This spiral plagued Britain and is is a a a a a a a problem still faced today Subsequently one could understand why the government utilises the current economic model for housing assessment For more information read gov uk web page on on ‘Housing and economic need assessment’ However as as with any model it it is is impossible to account for everything qualitative data is is also necessary DECLINE AND RESPONSE - 27