Advisory Center for Affordable Settlements & Housing

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Document Type General
Publish Date 15/07/2015
Author
Published By UCL Department of Geography and Bartlett School of Planning
Edited By Tabassum Rahmani
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Alternative Forms of Housing and the Next London Plan

The aim of this report is to consider amendments to the next London Plan that could support and encourage the growth of alternative forms of housing in the capital. In doing so, it defines what is meant by ‘alternative forms’, and assesses how each model might be of use in providing genuinely affordable housing for local people, as well as lessons that might be learned from other countries. In addition to recommendations specifically relating to the London Plan, the report sets out the wider context and other policy areas that could be considered, including the London Housing Strategy. The term ‘alternative housing’ refers to a wide range of different typologies and practices but can be broadly defined as falling into two main areas. The first is ‘mutual’ or ‘intentional’ schemes where a group of residents or a community has come together around a social model of participative or self-managed forms of housing, such as  cohousing, or co-operative housing. The second area could be defined as ‘a range of material and technological innovations that can improve the form, quality and future sustainability of supply’ (Fernández, 2014), and in the context of this report is defined predominantly as self-build housing. The two definitions are not mutually exclusive, and it is common to find projects that use both innovative social or economic models as well as innovative construction approaches.

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