Post-war social housing
standard of living, and it is inherently a radical design ideology which challenges the status quo by its very existence. These attributes made modernism the right choice as the style to represent social housing, which shared the aforementioned goals. Consequently, the earlier estates constructed on the outskirts of the city (for instance the Alton Estate built in the early 1950s) were successful as they followed closely themodernist ideology, providing residents with views of expansive green landscapes. As the architecture itself is therefore proven, culpability for the decline of modernist social housing falls to those responsible for its implementation and maintenance. Time pressure resulted in inner-city estates following the same design as those on the outskirts, creating oversized structures which did not provide the same connection to nature. Budget cuts and the introduction of Right-to-Buy hindered s outh London councils’ efforts to maintain estates, and they began to degrade. As the quality of life in post-war modernist buildings decreased, so too did support for social housing as a whole. The connection between the two ultimately resulted in the demise of both. Today, the problems which modernist social housing was developed to solve still exist. In spite of this, the trend is clear: social housing is still decreasing, and private renting is increasing (Greater London Authority, 2017). History shows us the danger of a society with high levels of unregulated private renting, and we should heed its message. The government should properly regulate the private rental sector, while investing in public sector housing on a large scale. This new housing should be available regardless of financial background to ensure a healthy diversity, prevent monocultures and promote social mobility. Without a more equal housing system for all, we can never attain a more equal society.
Bibliography
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