The Department of Housing and Urban Development

Habitat 69, in Montreal, designed by Moshie Safie

 Here we find some rather obvious policies, but then extraordinarily difficulties and barriers.

The principles for housing are- Everyone has a right to a safe, healthy and peaceful place to live.

Property should be accessible, and affordable. People should be given as much access as possible to green spaces.  As with food, this is a basic need.

There is a shortage of good accommodation. Development starts by using existing buildings, and then redevelops  derelict areas.  Finally we preserve so called ‘green field sites’, as part of our environmental policy.  The only exception is if everyone see the necessity of development for the long term prosperity of a town or city.  New homes can only be built if infrastructure is also planned.  This demands the some of the most integrated policy making in government.  New houses mean larger sewers, planning for rainwater run-off, schools, health services, roads, transportation. This is why development is often held up and causes local frustration.  This government will provide the oversight, and legislative frameworks needed to make decisions on empty property, make sure that investment in infrastructure happens quickly and is appropriately incentivised.

There will be an assumption that no property should be left empty for over one year.  Systems will be designed to combat fraud and the rich paying their way out of compliance.

The government will both support home ownership and the rental sector.  Rents will be regulated to ensure that renting, or home ownership, does not unfairly discriminate against the resident.  These decisions will be made by an independent body, much as the Bank of England set the interest rate for the country.

In the past, housing departments looked at the number of people registered as homeless, and provided a solution which worked at the time.  Many cities have tower blocks from this period.  Many are now removing these tower blocks, seen as unhealthy and dangerous. Sustainable new housing will require three criteria for success.  The first they must be appealing to the average person. We ask eth e question "will the properties feel safe, and how will social problems such as anti-social behaviour, drug use and petty crime be prevented?"  Second, they must be accessible, and the third they must fit with low energy requirements. 

To prevent the terrible waste of builders constructing non-compliant buildings, and getting away with it due to their commercial power, planners will have direct control over the financing of all new building, and be able to control the priorities through the withholding of payments. If builder threaten to declare bankruptcy due to non-compliance, local councils will have the power to purchase the whole project and find new contractors.

Power over local development will be commissioned by council planners, drawing on the expertise of local and interested artists. Architects and social thinkers.

The social issues associated with planning require an integrated approach.  Every society will have a small group of people who offend in every way. All communities need to plan how to manage this.  The traditional approaches have involved deportation, incarceration and ghettoisation.  In a similar way to the methods used in school to tackle bullying, housing departments will operate social models to 

1) empower bystanders, and combat fear. 

2) have accommodation suitable for the most vulnerable which provides protection. 

3) have accommodation for people with significant behavioural problems that acknowledges and contains the problems associated with anti social behaviour, crime and violence.

All localities will have neighbourhood forums which will be run by the voluntary sector, but enforced by legislation, with statutory representation, similar to the role provided by school governors, which will provide accountability and oversee fast action in enforce this policy.