State Housing In Britain

Originally published in 1979, this book was the first to provide a comprehensive political-economic analysis of the historical origins and 20th Century experience of state housing in the UK. The first part describes the growth of municipal housebuilding in the context of slum clearance before 1914 and the cycle of boom and slump between the wars. Part 2 covers 1945- 1980 with chapters on : site acquisition and residential densities; the housebuilding industry and its standards; the balance between rehabilitation and redevelopment and the rise and fall of the high-rise flat. Sources and costs of capital finance and the management of the stock of council dwellings is also discussed. The final part reviews the development of state housing policy since the War, within a broad political and macro-economic context.

State housing became an integral part of the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain from the 1880s until the early 1990s. Using research from both Irish and Westminster sources, this book shows that there was recurrent pressure for the state to intervene in housing in Ireland in a period when the "Irish Question" was the major domestic political issue. The result was that the model of subsidized state housing subsequently introduced in Britain was first developed in Ireland, as a product of the tensions of British rule. An important corollary of innovative Irish housing policy was its influence, even in a negative sense, on developments in mainland Britain. This book also examines the cultural impact of imperialism, and in particular the way in which British ideas of garden suburb housing and town planning design came significantly to reshape the Irish urban environment. Fraser not only presents hitherto unknown material, but does so in a unique interdisciplinary blend of architectural, planning, urban and socio-economic history.

Homes fit for Heroes looks at the pledge made 100 years ago by the Lloyd George government to build half a million ‘homes fit for heroes’ – the pledge which made council housing a major part of the housing system in the UK. Originally published in 1981, the book is the only full-scale study of the provision and design of state housing in the period following the 1918 Armistice and remains the standard work on the subject. It looks at the municipal garden suburbs of the 1920s, which were completely different from traditional working-class housing, inside and out. Instead of being packed onto the ground in long terraces, the houses were set in spacious gardens surrounded by trees and open spaces and often they contained luxuries, like upstairs bathrooms, unheard-of in the working-class houses of the past. The book shows that, in the turbulent period following the First World War, the British government launched the housing campaign as a way of persuading the troops and the people that their aspirations would be met under the existing system, without any need for revolution. The design of the houses, based on the famous Tudor Walters Report of 1918, was a central element in this strategy: the large and comfortable houses provided by the state were intended as visible evidence of the arrival of a ‘new era for the working classes of this country’.

First published in 1982 at a time when housing policy featured prominently in the press and in political debate, Housing in Britain was written to provide an authoritative review of housing in Britain. The book is a comprehensive introduction to the major policy shifts from 1945 to the year of publication. It explores the many aspects of ‘housing’ as a matter of state policy; as a commodity with a certain market for its sale and exchange; as an essential item, with rules regulating access and eligibility; and as a vital element in the reproduction of social life. Particular attention is paid to the institutions involved within the British housing market, and the redistributional consequences of housing-market processes and state housing policy. Housing in Britain will appeal to those with an interest in the history of British housing policy and debates, and the history of social policy in Britain.

Homes fit for Heroes looks at the pledge made 100 years ago by the Lloyd George government to build half a million ‘homes fit for heroes’ – the pledge which made council housing a major part of the housing system in the UK. Originally published in 1981, the book is the only full-scale study of the provision and design of state housing in the period following the 1918 Armistice and remains the standard work on the subject. It looks at the municipal garden suburbs of the 1920s, which were completely different from traditional working-class housing, inside and out. Instead of being packed onto the ground in long terraces, the houses were set in spacious gardens surrounded by trees and open spaces and often they contained luxuries, like upstairs bathrooms, unheard-of in the working-class houses of the past. The book shows that, in the turbulent period following the First World War, the British government launched the housing campaign as a way of persuading the troops and the people that their aspirations would be met under the existing system, without any need for revolution. The design of the houses, based on the famous Tudor Walters Report of 1918, was a central element in this strategy: the large and comfortable houses provided by the state were intended as visible evidence of the arrival of a ‘new era for the working classes of this country’.

Originally published in 1988, this book offers the first comprehensive and critical analysis of the privatisation of public housing in Britain. It outlines the historical background to the growth of public housing and the developing political debatea surrounding its disposal. The main emphasis in the book, however, is on the ways in which privatisation in housing links to other key changes in British society. The long trend for British social housing to become a welfare housing sector is related to evidence of growing social polarisation and segregation. Within this overall context, the book explores the uneven spatial and social consequences of the policy.

Exploring the politics of housing during 1890-1990, The Politics of Housing examines the interaction of national and local politics and key issues such as civic culture, key local players, local discourse, and geographical and demographic problems. It argues that tenants acted as consumers of a public service and questions the way in which notions of consumerism shaped responses to the housing debate. An analysis of the impact of legislation on housing policy in different cities is provided, as well as a more detailed account of the politics of housing in Manchester, including: the Victorian legacy, the emergence of government intervention, post-war overspill estates, new system-built flats and their rapid deterioration, rising tenant anger, and the beginning of a new approach based on consultation and partnerships.