Housing For A Better Nation

Stephen Richard — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 17:48:18 +0000

Primary Author or Creator

Sarah Glynn

Stephen Richard Wed, 08/18/2021 - 18:48

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Alternative Published Date

August 2014

Category

Social housing

House ownership

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

Good housing needs more than good housing policy: housing policy needs to be part of wider social changes towards a more equal, community-centred, environmentally sustainable society, but good housing policy can make an important contribution to those changes. Economic considerations remain key, but we need to transcend the destructive veneration of GDP.

This paper outlines a radically different approach to housing policy. It also looks at immediate improvements that will be steps on the way to more fundamental transformation.

More details

― The current focus on housing as speculation fails to provide the homes people need, pushes up housing costs, encourages bad design and short-termism, concentrates wealth among a small elite, and has brought economic crisis on a world scale.

― We need to move housing away from the market, and this means a major shift of focus towards social and environmental priorities.

― Various policies are outlined with the aim of moving housing policy away from satisfying “the market” and towards ensuring adequate housing provision.

― These include Land Value Taxes, expanded mortgage-to-rent schemes, better regulation of private renting and second homes, and better planning for Green New Deal quality housing.

― Housing policy is integral to the wider economy, so we must look beyond the moral imperative to the wider economic implications and the economic case for public investment.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Housing-for-a-Better-Nation…

Keywords

Language English