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for poor finishes, excess glasswork, inadequate insulation both for
noise and heat, etc., on financial grounds, and their possible effects
on the development of practical and psychological problems have
received scant attention.
It would seem that too much emphasis has been placed on
providing accommodation and not nearly enough on its long-term
influences upon the individual and family life. In many instances,
our approach has been somewhat "utopian" rather than practical
and, as a result of neglecting to take account of human preferences,
natural forces and market influences, planning is failing to reshape
society for the better.
Housing authorities in urban areas are overwhelmed by density
problems and the dominance of high rise accommodation in all
their schemes is a logical sequence. Despite the fact that only
about 1% of all persons want to live in high flats, over half the
total of dwellings under construction in local authorities' schemes
is comprised of flats. Under such circumstances, contentment and
harmony will be difficult to achieve.
Wholesale blighting and denudation of areas with subsequent
mass re-housing in high rise flats, is devastating to the family and
individual personality. Often there remains little pride in possession
nor a sense of belonging and there is complete absence of
a community pulse. For most families, flat life is productive of
human discomfort if not actual misery. At times it is lonely, noisy
and inconvenient for amenities and lacks storage space for all the
extraneous things which bring contentment to children. Among
other disadvantages, many high rise dwellings have insufficient
natural ventilation and suffer in varying degrees from unsightly
fungus growth resulting from condensation. Often ineffective,
underfloor heating is most expensive especially to those with low
incomes and is virtually prohibitive to the retired elderly who, in
winter, may well become hypothermic if not subject to lesser ills
such as bronchitis, chilblains and other respiratory and circulatory
troubles.
Perhaps the boom in high rise housing is over but, as a result
of dubious planning and doubtful design economics over the past
two decades, housing authorities are now left with a heritage of
unsuitable housing accommodation for young families and social
and welfare problems of ageing persons in multi-storied dwellings,
not to mention the intractable nature of future slum clearance.
In this Borough we are fortunate that, until recently, sufficient
land was available for housing programmes and now, almost in