Our new report sets out three ways cities should respond to meet their housing needs.
There is now broad consensus amongst politicians, academics and policy commentators alike that the UK needs to build more homes – at least 200,000 per year. But while national politicians play a game of one-upmanship of numbers, there is little talk about where these homes will be built. The truth is that the need for new homes is greatest in Britain’s most economically successful and least affordable cities. And to meet this need, all policy options must be on the table
In our most successful cities house building isn’t matching this demand. For example, between 2008 and 2013 there were relatively more homes built in Barnsley (second most affordable city in Great Britain in which to buy a house, given local incomes) than in London or Oxford (the least affordable cities). Failing to build the homes that these cities need constrains their growth, as people cannot afford to live in them, nor access their jobs or services. The flow-on impacts from this are bad news for business, and both local and national economies.
While there is no single solution to building more houses, at the heart of any response needs to be the issue of land supply; in effect, where exactly to build these 200,000 homes each year. Increasing the amount of land allocated for housing is the only way of meeting the needs of our high-demand cities and the country.
So how can this be achieved? Our latest report sets out the three components of an effective response to the housing crisis plaguing our most successful cities.
All of these responses require cities to consider where opportunities match with existing infrastructure, and how best to link new homes to the jobs and services that offer people the most opportunities, and make these cities successful. But what is most important is that given the severity of the housing crisis facing these places, all options should be on the table.
The under-supply of homes has been a long-term and systemic problem for the UK that is hindering growth in the country’s most productive places. Cities must be bold in identifying accessible land for more homes, and national politicians must support them in doing this. Otherwise, regardless of policy announcements and ambitious targets, the homes these cities need will continue to go unbuilt.
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