3 ms·

> Wait a minute, wut? Explain to this former colonist what cultural cue he's missing, because how is it possible that 42% of a country's population lives in pub

by cjs_ac 3y ago

> Wait a minute, wut? Explain to this former colonist what cultural cue he's missing, because how is it possible that 42% of a country's population lives in public housing? Or is it not "public housing", as in U. S.-style subsidized housing? Or were times just that bad in Great Britain in the 70s? There were a few factors. 1. Yes, many people were very poor. Today, many Britons are still very poor. 2. In the war, an awful lot of housing was destroyed. Entire towns (Harlow and Milton Keynes are prominent examples) were built from open countryside to house the displaced. The overwhelming majority of this housing remained in government ownership until Thatcher's 'Right to Buy' reforms, which are the origin of the present housing crisis in the UK. 3. Prior to the war, the United Kingdom was the most densely populated country on Earth; during the war, people 'mucked in' to help each other during the nationwide trauma of Total War[0], and after the war, returning servicemen and servicewomen demanded that the sacrifices made amount to something. The governments formed by the Labour Party from 1945 to 1980 instituted a great many social reforms - the National Health Service, expansion of state schooling, social care, and so on - that made good on these demands, and were seen as improvements to the nation, rather than government overreach. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_war

_dain_ 3y ago
They also introduced the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947, which made it illegal to build any kind of housing or modify existing housing without asking permission from the government. We would not need council housing nowadays if the private sector were simply allowed to fill the market demand. We are no longer in the days when children played in the rubble of cities flattened by the Luftwaffe. Blaming Thatcher is too kind to the current government. They're the ones who keep listening to nimbys. Thatcher's mistake is that she didn't go far enough; axing the 1947 Act and its descendants should have been part of the supply-side reforms. The fondness for council housing is an example of a peculiar psychological coping mechanism of Britons, stemming from imperial decline. We pretend a necessary evil was something positively desirable all along. The Americans are right, it is actually embarrassing to have 42% of your population in state-owned housing, I'm sorry to say.
- gorgoiler 3y ago
  One counterpoint to this is Lisbon, with its unregulated building codes. If you’ve shoulder barged a doorway that’s too narrow, looked out of a window that’s one third obscured by a brick wall, or sat on the can and had your knees hit the walls, you’ll know what I mean. Planning and standards aren’t quite the same thing, but unregulated building has negative consequences on quality if not quantity. Does terrible Portuguese architecture go hand in hand with an abundance of affordable housing?
  - _dain_ 3y ago
    This is a common fallacy trotted out by opponents of planning deregulation. They conflate it with building codes, as if the planning laws have anything to do with health and safety, fire mitigation, and so on. The example we should look to is Japan. Being a country prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, they have rigorous building codes. But they have very loose planning restrictions. Meaning, so long as you make the building safe and habitable, you have a great deal of latitude to build what you want, by right, within an urban or suburban area. https://twitter.com/380kmh/status/1638247647776473089 https://twitter.com/380kmh/status/1638247647776473089 https://twitter.com/AntBreach/status/1121362679367598080 https://twitter.com/AntBreach/status/1121362679367598080 It is that key phrase "by right" which is lacking in the UK. You cannot build anything by right. This must change.
- atchoo 3y ago
  Please no-one pay this extreme ideological crankery any note.
  - _dain_ 3y ago
    feel free to give a counterargument anytime

by cjs_ac 3y ago

_dain_ 3y ago

They also introduced the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947, which made it illegal to build any kind of housing or modify existing housing without asking permission from the government. We would not need council housing nowadays if the private sector were simply allowed to fill the market demand. We are no longer in the days when children played in the rubble of cities flattened by the Luftwaffe. Blaming Thatcher is too kind to the current government. They're the ones who keep listening to nimbys. Thatcher's mistake is that she didn't go far enough; axing the 1947 Act and its descendants should have been part of the supply-side reforms. The fondness for council housing is an example of a peculiar psychological coping mechanism of Britons, stemming from imperial decline. We pretend a necessary evil was something positively desirable all along. The Americans are right, it is actually embarrassing to have 42% of your population in state-owned housing, I'm sorry to say.

gorgoiler 3y ago
One counterpoint to this is Lisbon, with its unregulated building codes. If you’ve shoulder barged a doorway that’s too narrow, looked out of a window that’s one third obscured by a brick wall, or sat on the can and had your knees hit the walls, you’ll know what I mean. Planning and standards aren’t quite the same thing, but unregulated building has negative consequences on quality if not quantity. Does terrible Portuguese architecture go hand in hand with an abundance of affordable housing?
- _dain_ 3y ago
  This is a common fallacy trotted out by opponents of planning deregulation. They conflate it with building codes, as if the planning laws have anything to do with health and safety, fire mitigation, and so on. The example we should look to is Japan. Being a country prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, they have rigorous building codes. But they have very loose planning restrictions. Meaning, so long as you make the building safe and habitable, you have a great deal of latitude to build what you want, by right, within an urban or suburban area. https://twitter.com/380kmh/status/1638247647776473089 https://twitter.com/380kmh/status/1638247647776473089 https://twitter.com/AntBreach/status/1121362679367598080 https://twitter.com/AntBreach/status/1121362679367598080 It is that key phrase "by right" which is lacking in the UK. You cannot build anything by right. This must change.
atchoo 3y ago
Please no-one pay this extreme ideological crankery any note.
- _dain_ 3y ago
  feel free to give a counterargument anytime