There is another way of building the new homes that we so urgently need, one which will also help towns and city centres to regenerate. Our visits to new large-scale housing developments in and around London and also to those in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands have shown the way forward.
European examples show another way
In Sweden and in Germany we saw large housing developments on the edge of towns with roomy low-rise apartments with generous balconies, oriented from the very start around walking, cycling and integrated transport. There were many benefits:
- More people close by means vibrant places establish. With many people living in proximity, new businesses have lots of customers and establish themselves at street level.
- Less space wasted on parking. There is less need for car parking with what is available often accommodated in the basement of apartments. With less space wasted on parking and roads, more homes can be built and integrated with other land uses.
- Green and walkable. We saw areas of low-rise apartments combined with green areas in the form of small parks and community spaces for all ages. There were trees and places to sit out. What a contrast to some of the barren urban extensions that we have seen in England.
- Buses and trams do well. As a result of lots of people living near bus routes, frequent services were viable compared to those we have seen serving car-based sprawl in England. When good buses (or trams) take you quickly to a well served railway station, you can have a lifestyle that is locally based but can also easily incorporate wider travel. With higher density of people to support businesses and with greater public transport connectivity comes economic growth.
- Car clubs are an easy option if you need a car for a particular journey.
Bringing it closer to home
Transport for New Homes was involved in a project with Sustrans and Create Streets looking at how the town of Chippenham in Wiltshire could grow more sustainably. In this exercise, the funds designated for a new road were diverted to public transport, walking, wheeling and cycling, crucial funding for town centre improvements supporting local businesses and the proposed denser new homes encouraged travel into town, not out. In the Chippenham example used in this study, the approach would use just 40% of the land designated in original plans, for the same number of homes. The full report shows many of the benefits.
The vision should be that, wherever your new home is, you can walk out of the door, and know that there are local amenities to walk to, and turn up and go public transport that connects you to a whole network of destinations.
