Solving the housing market crisis in England and Wales: from New Towns to garden communities

Abstract

This article examines the causes of the current housing crisis in England and Wales as it has emerged since the 1940s and the potential contribution of an alternative model of sustainable housing delivery in the form of garden communities. The analysis focuses on the shifts in housing needs, political ideology, spatial planning policy, the house-building industry, and the role of the land market on the supply, quality and affordability of housing since 1945. The article discusses how the construction of new settlements, such as the Garden Cities and New Towns programmes of the 20th century, has once again emerged as a potential means to meet contemporary housing needs.