Unaffordable Housing: Fables and Myths

Investigating Britain's Housing Shortage

Author: Alan W. Evans and Oliver Marc Hartwich - Jun 21, 2005

Posted in: Planning, Housing and Economic Development / Reform of the social housing system / Publications

Our planning system set out to predict and provide the housing we need, but as the flaws in the socialist model of provision became obvious it evolved to become a system that constrained development in order to protect the countryside. This has significant costs – we now live in some of the oldest, pokiest and most expensive housing in the developed world. A number of arguments are presented to support this situation, but these can be shown to be false. Our next report will look at how other countries succeed, and fail, to provide better and more affordable housing. In our final report we will offer our recommendations for reform, which we hope will enable the British to at long last enjoy the quality of housing they desire.

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