London faces a significant housing crisis that threatens both its social sustainability and its long-term economic stability. Last year (2014-15), our HEIF5 project, Addressing the Supply Crisis focused on the implications of the national election debate for London; identified barriers to supply specific to the capital and pointed to where change was needed. In doing so, we built immensely positive relationships with major stakeholders providing both a careful analytic base and an independent environment where they could come together to discuss ways forward.
Following on from that, this year's (2015-16) HEIF5 project will focus on the run up to the mayoral election examining strategies and instruments to accelerate the development of new housing and specifically clarifying how the new mayor could use his/her powers in the new policy context to generate a step-change in housing delivery. Throughout this year, LSE London has explored these issues through five major themes:
- Constructing Construction
- Devolution London
- Finance
- Housing Zones
- Planning Certainty
Each theme addresses how the new London Mayor can help overcome the major barriers to improving London’s housing crisis through workshops, site-visits, and stakeholder focus groups. Multimedia outputs bring the project to life, with thought-provoking research expressed through blog posts, and short films.
This project recognises the importance of the housing issue for the Mayoral election and the role of the GLA in making that a success. All potential candidates agree that a step change in housing delivery is needed but there is very little agreement on the details of how to ensure it happens. The wide range of national housing and planning policy changes that have been introduced since the national election, which impact on what is achievable, further complicates matters.
By engaging key groups of stakeholders and focusing on practical ways of overcoming the main barriers to accelerating supply, we hope to influence and improve the debate leading up to the mayoral election and to provide a blueprint for the months following the election.
Publications
Reports and Articles
Scanlon, K. & Whitehead, C. (2016) The profile of UK landlords. Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Whitehead, C., Scanlon, K., & Holman, N. (2016) Rising to the Challenge: London's Housing Crisis. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5.
Scanlon, K. [Contributor]. (2016) State of the Nation 2016: social mobility in Great Britain. Social Mobility Commission.
Gordon, I. & Whitehead, C. (2016) ‘Why else is density important?’ (London Plan Density Research Project 5). Greater London Authority.
Gordon, I. Mace, A., & Whitehead, C. (2016) ‘Defining, measuring and implementing density standards in London’ (London Plan Density Research Project 1). Greater London Authority.
Whitehead, C., Scanlon, K., Monk, S., Tang, C., with Haffner, M., Lunde, J., Anderson, M., & Voigtländer, M. (2016) Understanding the role of private renting: a four country case study. Knowledge Centre for Housing Economics.
Holman, N. & Mossa, A. (2016) Market VS Planning: is Deregulation the answer? Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5.
Whitehead, C., Scanlon, K., & Holman, N. (2016) Accelerating housing production in London, preliminary report. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5.
Scanlon, K. Whitehead, C., & Williams, Peter. (2016) Taking stock: Understanding the effects of recent policy measures on the private rented sector and Buy-to-Let. The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., & Edge, A. with Banerjee, P. (2016) The effect of forthcoming housing policy changes on social-tenant employment and the London economy. LB Camden.
Whitehead, C. [Commissioner]. (2016) Building a new deal for London: Final report of the London Housing Commission. Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
Whitehead, C. [Advisory group member] (2016) 'Home Improvements'. New Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
Scanlon, K. (2016) ‘Is going Deutsch worth it?’ View, an independent social affairs magazine, Issue 35.
McDonald, N. & Whitehead C. (2015) New estimates of housing requirements in England, 2012 to 2037. Town & Country Planning Tomorrow Series Paper 17.
12 October 2015
Holman, N., Fernández-Arrigoitia, M., Scanlon, K., & Whitehead, C. Housing in London: Addressing the Supply Crisis (Final Report & Executive Summary). Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5.
Multi-media
Videos
Mossa, A. & Steel, P. (2016) Enforcing the unenforceable: The hard work of two enforcement officers in London. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London YouTube.
Mossa, A. (2016) Discussing planning deregulation in London: Office conversions and short-term lettings. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London YouTube.
Mossa, A. (10 Oct 2016) Creating communities in London's new villages. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London YouTube.
Boer, L. & Leizaola, R. (21 Jul 2016) PLACE making: A modular approach to London’s housing shortage. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London YouTube.
Boer, L. & Leizaola, R. (21 Jul 2016) The Kipling Estate: Genuinely affordable housing in central London. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London YouTube.
Blogs
Mossa, A. (2016) Market VS Planning: is Deregulation the answer? Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Scanlon, K. (2016) Urban villages: some observations from LSE London. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2016) Accelerating Housing Production in London: Making national housing policy work in the capital. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2016) Building relationships with central and local government, blog from our roundtable event. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2016) Housing strategies for the new mayor, seminar blog. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Gordon, I. Next London Mayor should work with Wider South East to rethink the green belt. Centre for Cities.
Whitehead, C. (2016) Will the new London Mayor have the powers necessary to tackle the housing crisis? Centre for Cities.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2016) A case for greater planning certainty. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2016) Innovative construction methods. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2016) Housing zones as new housing acceleration tools. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Moreno-Tabarez, U. and Whitehead, C. (2016) Mayoral hustings debate summary: ‘Why I should be Mayor of London Tomorrow’. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2016) Roundtable on Planning and the Role of SME Builders. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
Scanlon, K., Whitehead, C., Fernández Arrigoitia, M. (2016) Roundtable 1: Setting the Priorities. Higher Education & Innovation Fund [HEIF] 5. LSE London Blog.
In the news
Marcellin, F. (2016) The future of urban housing. Design & Build Review Magazine. Issue 27.
Meyerm H. (2016) Would a rent cap work for tenants facing £1,000-a-month-rises? The Guardian.
Christie, J. (2015) Buy-to-let is taxed more in Britain than Germany, France or US - before the new tax. The Telegraph.
Clapperton, G. (2015) Time for change. New Statesman.
Events
Seminar (21 Jul 2016): Alternative housing development in London: Practices and possibilities. London School of Economics.
Short film festival (14 Jul 2016): Visualising London's Housing Crisis: Problems and Solutions. London School of Economics.
Conference (6-8 Jul 2016): 2016 AREUEA conference. Alicante, Spain.
Conference (5 Jul 2016): The Residential Funding Conference. London.
HEIF 5 Final Conference (23 Jun 2016): Opportunities to Accelerate Housing Production in London. London School of Economics.
HEIF 5 Seminar (10 May 2016): Housing Strategies for the New Mayor. London School of Economics.
Report Launch (10 May 2016): Taking stock: Understanding the effects of recent policy measures on the private rented sector and Buy-to-Let. London School of Economics.
Conference 914 Apr 2016): Providing cheap housing in expensive cities: is social housing the answer? ETH Forum Wohnungsbau 2016.
HEIF 5 Seminar (9 Mar 2016): A greater case for certainty. London School of Economics.
HEIF 5 Seminar (24 Feb 2016): Innovative construction methods. London School of Economics.
HEIF 5 Seminar (10 Feb 2016): Housing zones as new housing acceleration tools. London School of Economics.
HEIF 5 Seminar (28 Jan 2016): Mayoral hustings debate: ‘Why I should be Mayor of London Tomorrow. London School of Economics
HEIF 5 Seminar (20 Jan 2016): Roundtable on Planning and the Role of SME Builders. London School of Economics
Seminar (15 Dec 2015): GLA Intelligence Seminar: House prices in London. City Hall, London.
HEIF 5 Seminar (23 Nov 2015): HEIF5 Accelerating Housing Production in London Roundtable 1: Setting the Priorities’. London School of Economics.
Housing Select Committee of the LB of Lewisham (1 Dec 2015): The PRS: Evolution in London and international perspective’. Lewisham Council.
Report Launch (19 Nov 2015): The future of the private rented sector Kensington, London.
Conference (Nov 2015): Is there a problem with the current housing market? Geffrye Museum of the Home.
Conference (Nov 2015): Barriers to accelerating housing delivery New Ideas for Housing: Tools for accelerating delivery, New Architecture London.
Conference (21 Oct 2015): Housing in London: the current state of play. Policy Forum for London.
Conference (13 Oct 2015): The Role of Social Housing in Europe. Uppsala University.
Roundtable and Report Launch (12 Oct 2015): Housing in London. London School of Economics.