The Guardian reports on the social housing crisis in the UK

2017-06-26T14:34:00-04:00

Now, although the horror is still raw and much about it is still unknown, it has also become clear that Grenfell exposes in the harshest possible way questions of the current state of social housing, about the accessibility, affordability and quality of homes, and their impact on people’s lives.

The Guardian's feature examines the new documentary Dispossession: The New Housing Swindle which addresses the build up anger surrounding the issue of affordable housing and the failed attempts at combatting it, including Margaret Thatcher's right-to-buy policy and the effects of the 60s and 70s estates renewal. Beyond that, the article also offers recent examples of demolition, displacement through opinions of people that have experienced it firsthand–former residents of social or council housing.

"No honest portrayal of the current situation can ignore the fact that the last time government was a major builder of homes it didn’t get it all right. But, as it is now blindingly obvious that the market is not going to provide by itself, active building and planning by the public sector looks inevitable. There are ways to achieve new and affordable homes – by densifying suburbs, encouraging garden cities and, indeed, by renewing council estates – but none of them are easy. The invisib...

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The Guardian reports on the social housing crisis in the UK