This blog post argues for a new approach to the inflated UK housing market, inspired by public policy initiatives in Oman. It suggests a major initiative of allocating state and local authority-owned brownfield sites as pre-approved building plots, prioritising the working poor trapped in expensive private rental. This could alleviate the pressure on the housing market, reduce the demand for private rental that exacerbates the market through "buy-to-let". There is also an opportuity to use this self-building boom to implement world-leading environmental standards and develop new types of sustainable housing technologies. The blog also proposes the establishment of a British Housing Bank, offering low interest loans to develop these sites.

This dissertation analyses the extent to which Community Land Trusts (CLTs) in the San Francisco Bay Area can mitigate the displacement of Black, Indigenous and People Of Colour (BIPOC), and how they align with wider activism for housing equity and racial justice. It answers the question: to what extent are CLTs in the Bay Area intentionally integrating the housing needs of BIPOC into their agenda, in efforts to mitigate the displacement of BIPOC from their neighbourhoods? Using four Bay Area based CLTs and the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC) as case studies, semi-structured interviews were used to gather data on the intentionality of CLTs work with BIPOC communities and their efforts to collaborate with grassroots organisations in order to achieve this. It was found that, where some CLTs explicitly expressed their intentions to prioritise BIPOC communities, others feel too restricted by the Federal Housing Act to pursue such affirmative action. Moreover, all five organisations collaborated with housing rights and racial justice organisations, which kept them rooted to local grassroots movements. It is concluded that, of all the organisations interviewed, EB PREC is at the forefront of integrating the housing needs of BIPOC into their agenda, and therefore is in the best position to mitigate their displacement. This paper reveals the necessity for CLTs to be intentional about serving BIPOC communities in order to achieve racial justice in the housing market.

UCL Consultants Award presented to Prof Tadj Oreszczyn from the UCL Energy Institute at the UCL Enterprise Awards 2010

As the urban population in Indonesia is growing, limited availability of land, especially in big cities, causes microgrounded housing phenomenon to emerge. However, the social sustainability aspects of this housing model are little understood. This research seeks to understand the potential social implications on residents who live in micro-grounded housing in Indonesia. The adverse effects of crowding from case studies all around the world are being collected, combined with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and the housing value framework created by McCray and Day, are used to measure the social sustainability of the residents in Surabaya, one of the biggest cities in Indonesia. Combining interviews with empirical observations, this study used two opposite case studies: micro-grounded housing and standard-sized vertical housing, as a comparison to understand the distinct characteristic of the former. This study found that micro-grounded housing caters to fewer human needs and therefore only satisfies the lower part of Maslow’s hierarchy. When the basic daily need has not been fully satisfied, the urge to higher needs of housing value such as social interaction, prestige, and beauty, does not occur as this research found. A recommendation is made for more strict enforcement of space standards, for both building and plot size. Additionally, another form of housing such as co-living model could be an alternative to provide social sustainability through provision of more communal facilities. Moreover, the housing strategies need to focus not only on increasing the quantity of the house but also on its quality to reach a higher level of social sustainability.

Housing affordability crisis around the world has been linked to the neoliberalisation of housing policies, shrinkage of welfare states, credit system, and lack of housing supply. Existing literature shows that the narrative of neoliberal hegemony is converging globally. In contrast the welfare regime in Bhutan is on a divergence trajectory with welfare increasing in proportion to the growing GDP. Additionally, there are strong governmental efforts to prioritise a comprehensive national housing policy that is holistic and in line with its development philosophy of Gross National Happiness. However, Bhutan has been experiencing a growing housing affordability crisis for over two decades. This contradicts housing literature that illustrates the global trend of neoliberalisation of housing policies and the dwindling of welfare states as the cause for housing affordability crisis. Drawing on a qualitative, longitudinal, and historical analysis from 1950 to current the year, 2020, this research investigates the Bhutanese welfare regime “kidu” and the housing system as it relates to the growing housing affordability crisis in Bhutan. This research demonstrates the centrality of land in the housing system and subsequently contributes a novel methodological framework for future housing research. It also highlights the importance of understanding the socio-cultural context and the complexities of informal practices such as clientelism that poses a challenge to the implementation of policies. A key finding of this research asserts that without addressing the issue of land and the normative variables that shape it, the housing affordability crisis in Bhutan will continue to recur. The research concludes by presenting opportunities to move forward based on findings from interviews and discussions with key informants coupled with academic literature and national policy documents.