Housing density
June 10th, 2010
“This don’t care attitude combined with a lack of regulation, the need for high density living and “if we build it they’ll buy it” mentality is what has resulted in modern slums that are single aspect flats and multi-storey terraced houses with one external door – Ed.”
This is a subject that needs great care and attention to detail because of the risk of building modern slums. Single aspect dwellings, poor light and over-shadowing are all interconnected and more likely as housing is built more densely if not upward, but Mae are always worth listening to and a recent article in BDOnline quotes Alex Ely below:-
Alex Ely, a partner at Mae Architects who has been working on the mayor’s housing design guide, called the relaxation of minimum density rules a “backward step”.
A critical mass was needed to support public transport and other amenities, he said. And London low-density schemes would not be viable because land prices were so high.
“If we are going to build sustainably we need to use land effectively,” he said. “We whine about our post offices closing and bemoan the fact that our kids can’t afford to buy a home, yet as a nation we are actively opposed to development.”
The Post Offices were closed in order to reduce financial losses to the Royal Mail it is true but this was the result of a commercial decision to move away from cross subsidy and the idea of the Post Office as a public service, and entirely to a profit driven model. However I can understand the point he’s making that it requires a certain density of housing to support local services.
This article is continued on the Density page
If you arrived here in the hope of reading about terraced housing then please read this:-