View report page

92
SECTION D
Housing
During the 19th century, under the stimulus of the Industrial
Revolution, the population registered a remarkable increase which,
among other things, resulted in a substantial impetus to housing
especially in urban areas close to the source of employment.
This sudden demand for dwellings was met by impulsive design
and hurried construction, not perhaps conducive to the production
of the best of houses. Often "back-to-back", deficient in lighting
and ventilation, many of these houses are reaching the end of their
useful lives and, in due course, it will become necessary to clear
areas in which this type of property predominates.
Clearance of sub-standard dwellings usually presupposes
redevelopment and, in these circumstances, a great responsibility
rests upon modern architects and planners to ensure that the errors
of the past are not perpetuated in the cities of the future. In
acknowledging the shortcomings of previous years it might be as
well to reflect that, critical though we may be of the towns and
buildings of the 19th century, the housing situation today is, in
some respects comparable with that period and it is conceivable
that house design and construction dictated by present-day pressures
may, in its turn, be subject to similar scathing criticism.
In no other field in local government is it necessary to look so
far ahead and to plan accordingly than in housing and nobody is
more aware of local housing conditions than the medical officer of
health and his department. Indeed representations of areas for
clearance are, in the first instance, dependent upon his assessment
of the general grounds of unfitness based on detailed surveys carried
out by the Public Health Inspectors.
However, complete elimination of the dwellings of the last
century is not only impracticable and uneconomic but often undesirable.
Some of the bigger and better quality houses of the
period are capable of being altered or reconstructed to suit modern
requirements and many useful conversions have been and are being
made. Recent legislation has empowered local authorities to make
grants in order that the lives of some of the older properties may
be extended for at least 15 years, the main requirement being that,
on completion of outstanding works, the dwelling will be provided
with the five "standard" amenities, viz:—
(a) a fixed bath or shower in a bathroom,
(b) a wash handbasin.
(c) a hot water supply.