A History of Council Housing Design and Planning

John Boughton examines the major ideas and theories that have shaped the form of council housing over its 150-year history.

In overarching terms, there has been a long-running conflict between low-rise and multi-storey visions of social housing and a constant tension between the goal to build well and the need to build economically and at scale. Architects and planners have also designed schemes to promote community or separate people and traffic whilst finding their ideas discredited in practice or rejected by succeeding generations. Forms of prefabrication and system building – what are now called Modern Methods of Construction – are shown to have a mixed record of effectiveness at best. Nowadays, sustainable housing is rightly a key priority. Through this longer view, Boughton examines the notion of what constitutes a ‘failing’ estate and suggests that good design can only be one element in the creation of communities that thrive.