Beyond Bricks and Mortar

Abstract

Beyond Bricks and Mortar examines the role of social housing in providing low-cost rented homes for people too poor to afford decent, secure housing. Social housing houses homeless people and overcrowded families, replacing ‘slum’ conditions. The book is in four parts. Part I explores the origins and history of housing, provided at a low cost for the public good, with radical social reformers organising housing linked to work, childcare, education, and elderly care. Council housing grew rapidly between World War I and the 1970s, with many large estates becoming problematic. Part II explains what went wrong with the vision of decent, affordable homes for all and describes ways forward. Part III covers New Labour targets for the poorest neighbourhoods and the impact on housing and communities, as well as national urban decline and environmental damage. In Part IV, the focus shifts away from a universal welfare state toward a more individualised self-help approach and shows how social landlords responded to a radically changed and reduced social policy environment. The conclusion is that the only practical way to make low-cost renting work for both tenants and landlords is to deliver local, ground-level, hands-on management of rented housing. The gains from maintaining and managing existing properties far outweigh demolition and rebuilding. Social landlords own over four million homes. By sheltering and supporting the poorest communities, they became key players in our cities, towns, and villages. Their record, documented in Beyond Bricks and Mortar, underlines the vital role they play in Britain.