Nick Mathiason – A Great British Housing Crisis

The fall in affordable housing In 2010, 60,480 affordable homes were built. Government figures suggest just 42,710 affordable units will be built in the 12 months to March this year.

tbij.creatavist.com. December 2014. Jean Uzoma, a redoubtable 67-year-old community activist, lives in one of Europe’s biggest housing development zones close to the Thames in south London.
From Jean’s fifth floor balcony, imposing glass towers and cranes edge towards her estate both east towards Waterloo and Southwark and west to Vauxhall and Battersea.

As house prices and rents spiral, you’d imagine a huge housing project presents the perfect opportunity to address Britain’s affordable housing crisis.
But Jean sounds almost affronted when asked whether the thousands of newly built flats in her community will provide homes for her daughter’s family who were priced out of the area years ago.
“Don’t be stupid!” she laughs. “Nobody’s going to live there who comes from here.”
Less than quarter of a mile from Jean’s flat and running parallel to the River Thames is a 195 hectare muddle of arterial roads, elevated rail lines, offices, distribution businesses, data centres and council estates.