Build me up, level up
Think tank: Adam Smith Institute
Author(s): Dr Michael Turner; Matthew Lesh
September 24, 2021
This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at popular homebuilding while boosting local communities.
The Adam Smith Institute’s latest paper, co-published with C|T Local analyses a groundbreaking new poll about attitudes to housing reform: The housing crisis, in which too few homes are being built where people want to live, is holding back Britain’s economy, pushing up the cost of living, increasing inequality, contributing to climate change and driving political dissatisfaction. Planning reform is perceived to be a devil’s choice: allowing more building attracts substantial ‘local’ opposition while not building enough drives anger among those locked out from housing. This is a false dichotomy. It is possible to build more homes in a way that is popular and electorally beneficial. This research paper presents perhaps the most expansive effort to date to identify a path forward on homebuilding.
