Are new towns really the answer to Britain's housing crisis?

Cook said this was no coincidence and described the spirit some 80 years later: “The New Town movement brought people from all walks of life together, and because of that, there are some really unique voices being fostered here. This has fostered Harlow's unique identity. I believe it is essential to preserve this spirit, especially for younger generations experiencing the evolution of communal living.”

For Liz Emerson of the InterGenerational Foundation, it's quite simple. It's about building more homes and fixing the injustice that makes young people pay the price for their basic rights.

“The argument that new cities should not be built is unfair across generations. There was Milton Keynes and there was Swindon. Villages have been built before,” Emerson said.

“The idea that someone’s existing views should not be accepted into a new home is a complete NIMBY idea. The existing homes are likely to be post-war homes that have caught the eye of people living further afield in the town or village.”

Even if a new city is not suitable for young people, they may be able to secure housing elsewhere. This means it will not only help young people struggling to get on the housing ladder. “If you want your children to live nearby, you need to support new housing in that area,” Emerson said.

How to Build a New City Properly

When building a new city, location is important. To fill the shortfall of 4.3 million homes, 36 new Milton Keyneses homes would need to be built. But where should I put it?

“The housing crisis we face in the UK is primarily a crisis in the South East. That’s not to say there aren’t housing problems elsewhere, but they are much less severe,” said Paul Swinney, director of policy and research at the Center for Cities think tank.

Some new cities, such as Milton Keynes, developed thriving economies, while others faltered. Jobs, transportation, and all the other things that make a city attractive are not a given.

“If you're going to build more new cities, the data shows it's better to do it in the Southeast. We will do so particularly as close to London as possible,” Swinney said. The Elizabeth Line, which extends west to Reading, offers opportunities, as does the railway station, which is surrounded by fields.

Building new transport links is the idea behind West Town, a 205-acre, 7,000 new homes city planned near Edinburgh Airport. The £2 billion development includes parks, cycle tracks, schools and shops.

Russell Curtis, the architect responsible for keeping London's new homes in perfect condition, told The Big Issue that building a new city is no easy task.

“In order to build a new city properly, we need to have all the infrastructure, but before that, I think we need to collect land first and purchase farmland or goods compulsorily. It will take years for others to own it. Then all the infrastructure is in place and planning permission has been obtained.

“It is a long-term exercise. There is no way, for example, that Labor could deliver a new town within the first term of government if they are elected.”

Public art in Milton Keynes. Image: Brian Smithson/Flickr

New cities in the 21st century cannot simply be copies of 1950s settlements.

“I can see the appeal of why politicians think it could be part of the answer, but the new city model has its challenges. It was a very low-density development based on automobile dependence,” Swinney said.

In fact, new cities must be accompanied by a change in the way we think about cities, said Living Streets vice-president Christopher Martin. “The biggest barriers to new cities right now are connectivity and transportation,” Martin said.

Cities are typically planned using a “predict and deliver” model that identifies current trends and extends them into the future.

“The funding proposals put forward together mean building a new dual carriageway and a new large roundabout to service the development. This is because it is based on the use of existing vehicles,” Martin said.

Instead, if we start using “vision and verification” to imagine our ideal city and work towards it, we can begin to see new, new cities fit for the future. In the long run, this would also help public finances, Martin argued.

“Getting transportation right can save you a ton of money,” he said.

Alternative to Newtown

There is an alternative. Russell Curtis has just published research claiming London could accommodate 900,000 new homes if it relaxed planning rules. Following in Croydon's footsteps, the borough will enable developers to enhance smaller sites with relative ease.

“We can now buy large single-family homes on large lots, demolish them, and build apartment blocks,” Curtis said. Looking at areas within a 10-minute walk of the capital station, he found there was potential for almost a million additional homes.

“What I’m trying to do is find a way to deliver these homes without fundamentally changing the character of the area we’re strengthening,” he added.

“Having 900,000 homes across London will not solve the housing crisis. “We need to build around some new urban and rural stations.”

Is it really necessary to build one? In London, buildings account for about two-thirds of the city's carbon emissions. Rachael Owens, co-director of the National Retrofit Hub, argued that large-scale building projects would go far beyond our climate targets.

“We don’t have the carbon budget to build the number of homes that current and future governments anticipate,” Owens said.

“Retrofits need to be part of the solution as retrofitting existing buildings is much less carbon intensive.

“There are definitely places where you can build a new home if the quality is good. But we can’t just rely on building new homes.”

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