S01 E22 'Spaghetti Throwing' feat @mauricelange.bsky.social of The Centre for Cities sharing key insights into the reasons the UK keeps failing to build enough homes! - RR

A new NPPF with lots @centreforcities.bsky.social is enthusiastic about. Reforms on land near train stations and urban densities gladly make putting houses near jobs a priority. But we, as per, think more can be done. Read our thoughts here: www.centreforcities.org/blog/christm...

Want to compare how dense cities are in Britain, France and Japan? You're in luck! @centreforcities.bsky.social just released our data As you can see, British big cities are very flat compared to their international peers. ... 🧵

How can spaghetti help us think about planning reform? Check out the latest episode of the pod with @mauricelange.bsky.social of the @centreforcities.bsky.social: makeplanningmakesense.captivate.fm/listen -AZ

I went on @mpmspodcast.bsky.social to chat about planning, local government & other things and had a great time! Want 40 mins of my dulcet tones? Give it a listen here: makeplanningmakesense.captivate.fm/listen

I won a thing! My submission to the @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social prize was an updated version of @centreforcities.bsky.social paper on public housebuilding from last December. I loved writing the paper, so it's really pleasing to have it recognised. Short thread...

Congratulations to @mauricelange.bsky.social for winning the @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social Early Career Researcher's Prize and @drblez.bsky.social for being the runner-up in the @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social Early Career Researcher’s Prize www.thinkhouse.org.uk/about/early-...

Thanks Stephen! We agree on demolitions - especially private demolitions are far below rates in France and Japan. If cities are going to evolve, we need to get comfortable with replacing existing houses with denser, newer stock. (chart from the same report)

The quickest summary of our 50-page report you can get. If you're pressed for time, give this little blog a read!

New report on housing densities in cities out today! If video is how you like your information, watch our presentation back here 👇

🤔Want to more about our new report 'Flat Britain: The urban density gap and how to solve it'? Catch up on the launch event over on our Youtube channel 👇 www.youtube.com/live/vJuxePs...

Great Report by @centreforcities.bsky.social @mauricelange.bsky.social I particularly like this graph which shows Sapporo the least space constrained Japanese city is actually one of the densest. www.centreforcities.org/wp-content/u...

“A large housing project delivering more than 500 homes in west London will no longer go ahead…Specifically, [the developer] claims that the most significant reason for its termination was the new requirement to provide two staircases in London for buildings over 18 metres.”

Big cities like Birmingham could get many more people well connected to its city centre by a 30 minute public transport journey. But this doesn't involve expanding the network - no new trams or new bus routes. This is simply from making the existing network function better: integration. Thread 🧵

Come watch me & colleagues discuss my latest research on where housing densities should be higher in British cities. Lots of fun maps

London isn't building houses and now we've got some emergency measures to fix things? What to make of them? ...

Enjoyed this appearance on GLA TV a lot! Lots more research on density in British cities coming from CfC soon. Sign up to the launch event here: www.centreforcities.org/event/report...

🚨 This is a huge victory for the organised tenant movement after YEARS of organising. We need to go further, and we’ll keep fighting for more, but the biggest change to renters rights in a generation is worth celebrating. This wasn’t handed to us from above, we won it💪

The Renters' Rights Bill has been APPROVED by the House of Commons! This is the final step before the Bill receives Royal Assent, which we expect shortly. No more amendments, no more debate - renters' rights are coming.

Today, Analyst @mauricelange.bsky.social attended @londonassembly.bsky.social #AssemblyPlanning to discuss how mid-rise residential development could help London’s housing needs👇

📅 Centre for Cities on: The New Towns Taskforce report Our housing and planning experts @antbreach.bsky.social and @mauricelange.bsky.social will introduce key takeaways from the report and what they mean for the Government’s housing delivery plans. Register here👇 buff.ly/QM52C1a

Come watch me and colleagues chat more about new towns - next Wednesday, 11am: www.centreforcities.org/event/centre...

🏘️The New Towns Taskforce report understands what new towns are for, but now it’s up to Government to deliver. This blog reviews the report's recommendations and the Government’s response👇 buff.ly/eZwN2iJ

The New Towns Taskforce report makes for pleasant reading. They've selected locations where fast, large-scale housebuilding is needed. But I'm left wondering whether it'll all have been worth it. Three starting by the end of this parliament isn't very many...

Primary school closures in Inner London have hit the headlines. This is understandable: pupil numbers have fallen; journalists live in London; and people love to believe Londoners are weird. But I think the story is a broader one: falling pupil numbers are the new normal

NEW PODCAST | A year of planning reforms🎙️ @andrewcities.bsky.social, @mauricelange.bsky.social and @antbreach.bsky.social discuss how the government has been doing over the last year as they implement planning reforms to try and meet the housebuilding target. Listen now🎧👇 buff.ly/9FtSQP5

NEW CAMPAIGN 🚨 Right now, people are pushed into poverty when councils send in bailiffs for council tax debt. But there’s another way. Together, we can stop this. Together, we can have dignity not debt. Together, we can make Britain Bailiff Free👇 🔗 acorntheunion.org.uk/bailiffs/

In this blog @antbreach.bsky.social and I set out the rationale for legislating for a zoning system A key weakness in the English system is that it doesn't establish clear rules in local plans, and there are limits to how effectively policy-making from the centre (i.e. NDMPs) can override this

Why? Unis are big international exporters in their cities - they bring in overseas student fees and spending. 9 of top 10 English cities where universities are most important for exports are outside the Greater South East. Leicester will feel this far more than Oxford.

The New Towns Taskforce is expected to report to Government in the next few weeks. Ahead of all the likely commotion, which I expect will focus on locations rather than the big picture questions, I've written about what @centreforcities.bsky.social is hoping to see:

That's why 1.5 million homes and planning reform is so important - the electorate want the homes, but reform is needed to deliver them. You can read much more on the flaws with local planning in the UK in this overview by @mauricelange.bsky.social 👇 www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

How does England's planning system compare to international peers? Big Q that my colleagues @mauricelange.bsky.social and Luka Kovacevic admirably address. well worth a read

Today on the blog ✍️ 🏛️ Tourist taxes are not about keeping museums free. Why? Their aim should be to raise revenue that places can invest in their visitor economic and wider amenities. Read @rjson.bsky.social's post here ⬇️ buff.ly/cRP5xpJ

🚨 Work for ACORN! We’re hiring a: - Birmingham Community Organiser - Hull Community Organiser - Junior Membership Organiser - Leeds Organising Assistant - Leicester Community Organiser - London Community Organiser To find out more/apply👇 acorntheunion.org.uk/join/work-fo...

I want to come back properly on this Economist piece that questions Britain's approach to net zero. It gets three things wrong imo: 1. Ignoring periods of v cheap renewable energy 2. Misdiagnosing the relative costs of renewables 3. Looking backwards, not forwards.

Me on why city regions should carry on pushing for powers to tax tourists - it's not about the tourists themselves! A local, flexible, and fully retained tax could demonstrate the growth principles of fiscal devolution in microcosm - for city regions, this is an opportunity to not pass up 👇

Yes, the grass is greener 🌱 Centre for Cities latest report explains why Germany, France and Japan all build more houses than England, by comparing how their planning systems function 🏘️ Read the summary blog 👇 buff.ly/ZKn3GFR

BREAKING: Our latest research finds that around £169m of renters’ money is WASTED every year 🧵Read all our findings in the thread here:

Too many fast trains seems like a luxury problem to anyone living in HS2land, but this is a really interesting article. The clear implication: abundance chatter needs less supply-side argument by (train track km) counting and more focus on what thing achieves www.pekingnology.com/p/china-mass...

Miss our report on why English planning needs to learn from Germany, France and Japan? Click the link below for the full report, or read the short blog here: www.centreforcities.org/blog/yes-the...

BLOG | Tourist taxes: The acceptable face of fiscal devolution? 🪙 City regions want powers to raise levies on overnight stays. This should reflect less on their visitor economies, and more on the growth-incentivising principles of fiscal devolution👇

I recommend this new report by @mauricelange.bsky.social for the Centre for Cities. And not just because I'm in the acknowledgements. Also includes Germany and France description. UK conversation needs to be this comparative. www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

This paper from @centreforcities.bsky.social does a good job of pulling out some of this nuance (it's not JUST "zoning will sort things out") and many of the recommendations are very sensible (and things we've also been calling for too) : www.centreforcities.org/publication/... 2/🧵

Planning is so important, but the system in England is broken. It's great to see a report that neither advocates for the status quo or a free for all. We can plan better communities and build more homes by learning from our neighbours.

Great summary of an incredibly thorough and well researched report on how the English planning system lags behind international best practice. Interesting that (inevitably) hampered capacity and weak incentives in local govt are a big barrier to improvement, so bolder, joined-up reforms needed 👇

France, Germany and Japan all build more homes than England - both nationally and in their major cities. What explains the gap? Check here to see what their planning systems have in common, and how England’s approach differs⬇️

REPORT | Planorama: How the English planning system can learn from abroad 🌍 This report looks at the commonalities between France, Germany and Japan's planning systems, and how the English system differs.   🧵👇 buff.ly/aiJzIL9

A rare example of an excellent think-tank report title

NEW @centreforcities.bsky.social REPORT OUT TODAY! In Planorama, Luka and I argue that if we want English planning to perform more like its international peers – Germany, France and Japan - it needs to BE more like them. 🧵 on what that means...