Delivering Sustainable Urbanism, Strategic Land Investment Model (2009)

The collapse of the housing market in 2008-2010 exposed cracks in the larger economy and family budgets. The fact that shelter had become simultaneously the source of wealth and the source of debt for most families created a structural volatility in the economy from which it took years to recover. Property, seen for centuries as a long-term asset to be held as capital for the generation of income, was redefined as a commodity. Families, who had seen housing as shelter and security, suddenly saw it as an investment, and a boom and bust market for buy-to-let flats for investment purposes was the result, despite the lack of the same level of underlying demand for this type of accommodation in much of the UK.

This report proposes that it is time to think about another way forward.