The module is designed to provide an overview of the British housing system and the role of housing, planning and other government policies in shaping the quantity and quality of housing provision. It provides students with a working knowledge of key issues in planning-relevant housing policy. Emphasis is placed on considering the constraints and opportunities in planning for the delivery of sufficient, sustainable, socially inclusive, and affordable housing. Public sector housing provision is contrasted with private sector provision with an emphasis placed on issues of finance and management and access alongside quality and performance.

This strategic overview is balanced with an examination of changing household patterns and the pathways which households follow through the housing system. The focus is on housing consumption, particularly the differentiated access to appropriate housing for various groups in society.

• Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of the UK housing system.
• Outline the general systems of public and private housing provision and identify their intersections, e.g affordable housing.
• Identify the ways in which governments have influenced the quantity, quality and location of housing supply in the UK.
• Demonstrate a critical awareness of the constraints and opportunities affecting diverse households and the implications these have on housing strategies and individual choices.

The module is delivered through a series of lectures supported by at least four seminars, which provide an opportunity for students to explore a topic in more depth through guided discussion.

• Effective time-management in preparing for involvement in seminars and meeting coursework submission deadline
• Effective communication for the exchange and sharing knowledge and ideas via group discussions and written work.
• Ability to synthesise ideas and write clearly and effectively.

• 50% Coursework 1
• 50% Coursework 2

The module is split into two sections. The first section (5 lectures) concentrates on the ways in which the quantity, quality and location of housing has been influenced by governments over time. The section includes: a history of housing policy and the changing emphasis between public and private housing provision over time; the ways in which housing has been/ is being subsidised; how we pay for housing; issues of housing need and demand and finally the provision of affordable housing.

The second section changes focus to the consumption of housing by individuals or individual households. Topics covered include: the meaning of home; homelessness and housing pathways; housing vulnerable people and creating sustainable communities. The focus across these topics is the differential access to appropriate housing experienced by different groups within society.

Anderson, I and Sim, D (2011) Housing and Inequality Coventry: CIH

Bramley, G., M. Munro and H. Pawson (2004) Key Issues in Housing: policies and markets in 21^st-century Britain. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan

Clapham D. (2005) The Meaning of Housing: A pathways approach. Bristol: The Policy Press.

Gallent, N. and M. Tewdwr-Jones (2006) Decent Homes for All: Planning’s evolving role in housing provision, London: Routledge.

Golland, A. and R. Blake (2004) Housing Development: theory, process and practice. Abingdon: Routledge

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