Peter Barber, Founder and Director of Peter Barber Architects, encourages us to think big when advocating for more and better housing.   

Nearly half of the UK population once lived in social housing. Today, that figure has dwindled to around 17 per cent. Behind that stark decline lies the root of our housing crisis: we have shifted the responsibility for homes from the state to the private sector – and the private sector simply cannot deliver at the pace we need. 

The scale of the challenge is enormous. Since the late 1970s, councils have been stripped of the power and resources to build, while housing associations and private developers have struggled to fill the gap. Pockets of good work exist, but too often social housing delivery feels like a sticking plaster on a much bigger wound. The only lasting solution rests with the central government, which must once again fund and prioritise a new generation of public housing. 

In the meantime, we must be opportunists. We work with the sites we’re given – often small, awkward or overlooked plots at the edge of London. Edgewood Mews on the North Circular is one such example: a patch of land most had written off. By rethinking the architecture, we turned a constrained plot of land into a neighbourhood, using a protective design to shield homes from noise and pollution, and shaping a shared mews as the heart of the community. This approach shows what can be achieved when architecture is used creatively to overcome obstacles. 

Our philosophy is simple: street-based housing, intensively using land without resorting to towers on isolated patches of grass. With innovative layouts – double-stacked units, minimal shared circulation and careful detailing – we can match the density of taller blocks while reducing costs. The street itself becomes the primary space for movement and meeting, supporting neighbourliness and resilience. 

This is not just about efficiency. It’s about society. The way we design and connect homes matters profoundly. A city built on streets – not segregated blocks – helps weave neighbourhoods together, creating subtle but powerful opportunities for people from different backgrounds, ages and walks of life to interact. Architecture shapes how we live alongside each other. 

We also believe the wholesale demolition of post-war estates is misguided. Communities rooted in these places for generations deserve careful consideration and targeted investment. At Kiln Place in Camden, we showed how sensitive infill can improve public space, connect streets and add new homes – without displacing people. Refurbishment and light-touch interventions can deliver ecological and social benefits while protecting established communities. 

But design alone cannot solve a structural crisis. We need policy change: ending Right to Buy, exploring cooperative housing models, introducing rent controls in the short term, and – most importantly – investing in a large-scale programme of new social homes. After the Second World War, Britain built 150,000 council homes a year while also founding the NHS. If we could do it then, we can do it now. It is a matter of political will and priorities. 

Looking to the future, we need to think big again. Britain has 8,000 miles of coastline and half a million empty homes in depopulated towns. With integrated policies for housing, energy, food and industry, we could reinvigorate these communities and reduce pressure on the Southeast. This kind of bold, joined-up thinking is not utopian – it is exactly how we rebuilt the country in the post-war years. 

What we need now is the same ambition: to build homes, strengthen communities and invest in a fairer future for everyone.