Podcast: Housing Crisis Takes Centre Stage in UK Media and Politics

Oct 26

Written By Open City

This week on The Brief, Sahiba spoke to Charlie Edmonds — project-lead at Civic Square and co-founder of the campaign group Future Architects Front.

They discussed how the housing crisis is rocketing up the political agenda following Labour’s YIMBY pledge, the dire state of UK infrastructure highlighted by Storm Babet, the humanity of modern buildings following Thomas Heatherwick’s divisive comments, and look at the online traditional architecture movement.

Summary of topics discussed:

UK housing crisis and its political implications. 1:37
- BBC documentary and Guardian investigation shines light on UK housing crisis
- Labour's yimby policy promises to review planning regulations and build 1.5 million homes over 5 years, focusing on vacant land within walking distance of train stations. Charlie argues this approach — working within the current system — is flawed, and destined to fail.
- Charlie argues that the current housing model is not a broken system, but rather one that is working as designed to extract value from land as a speculative asset.
Housing policies and climate emergency. 7:13
- Ending right-to-buy and building more social housing could be a more viable solution to the housing crisis than relying on the market to regulate itself.
- Charlie believes that the climate emergency is a crucial factor that has been overlooked in the discussions of the housing crisis, and that we don't have the hydrocarbon budget for mass housebuilding.
- Charlie emphasizes the need for bold, radical action to address the crisis, rather than relying on market incentives like empty homes tax.
- Charlie provides examples of successful radical housing policies from around the world, such as Barcelona's prioritization of empty rental units for social housing, and Vienna’s model where mass social housing effectively regulates the private market.
- Sahiba questions the feasibility of expropriation in the context of the UK, citing concerns of pie-in-the-sky policies and lack of political will.
Addressing the housing crisis, and the challenges of shifting opinion. 13:27
- Charlie emphasizes the importance of addressing material conditions and ecological sustainability in order to ensure equity in the built environment over the next 100 years.
- Charlie highlights the need to communicate this conversation in a way that resonates with people, by referencing the history of council housing and points to the ludicrous situation of councils subsidising private landlords for buildings they built.
- Charlie references public polling which shows that people want radical climate action, and equity to be put at the forefront of public policy
The poor state of UK infrastructure. 19:00
- Charlie argues that the privatization of services has lead to poor outcomes in infrastructure, using the example that no new reservoirs have been built since they were privatised in 1989.
- David Chipperfield calls for new retrofit-first based planning regulations.
- Charlie points out the importance of the materials used in retrofit projects - with natural materials baring a much lower carbon cost than petrochemical-based materials.
Sustainability, and the future of building design. 23:25
- Charlie emphasizes the urgent need for a planned transition to sustainable building practices, rather than waiting for climate catastrophes to force the issue.
- Young architects and students are eager to learn emerging skills in natural building materials, low embodied carbon, and socially and ecologically oriented design.
- Architects debate Heatherwick's criticism of modern architecture as bland and inhumane.
Architecture, humanity, and the Stirling Prize. 28:11
- Charlie critiques Heatherwick’s comments as a marketing strategy, instead emphasizing the importance of meeting people's material needs.
- The media storm surrounding this is due to the media landscape rewarding conflict and clicks, rather than nuanced discussions.
- The Stirling prize-winning building from Mae architectures is significant as a community-oriented, socially-oriented built environment, and the decision to award it is a positive step towards standardizing these qualities in buildings.
Traditional vs modern architecture and its cultural context. 33:34
- Matthew Lloyd Roberts criticizes the shallow nature of the debate between traditional and modern architecture advocates, who often ignore the complex economic, cultural, and social contexts that shape the built environment.
- Bedbugs have returned to London and Paris, causing panic and raising questions about responsibility in rented homes, with one expert warning that South End is a "disaster zone."
- Social media platforms like X, Instagram and TikTok can be useful tools for disseminating ideas, but they can also perpetuate resentment and polarize opinion, as the primary motivation for these platforms is to keep users engaged and clicking.