Through observation and comparison of the various models implemented across London, there are some notable ingredients contributing to positive and successful innovations in the delivery of affordable and sustainable housing.

Clear Vision, Leadership and Structure

The notion of affordability and sustainability in housing often seems like a dichotomy, as sustainable development is yet to prove affordable by the typical measure of capital cost and viability. Facilitating innovation in both design and delivery of these homes therefore requires a rethinking of value and taking a long view on how the viability conundrum is resolved.  Implementing a clear vision, strong leadership and a well-considered organisational structure can create fertile ground for innovation to take place. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) is an example of this. Under strong leadership, the borough has taken a long view on the delivery of affordable homes. In the last 7 years, LBBD has established 5 wholly owned arm’s length companies, 3 of which are directly linked to the delivery of affordable and sustainable homes.

Collaboration

Socially grounded and equitable cross sector collaboration between the private and public sector can help provide solutions to key challenges in delivering homes that
are both affordable and sustainable. For collaborative innovation to be successful, the sectors involved must be aligned in their vision. The private and public sectors each have invaluable insights and experience and bringing these together under a unified vision creates opportunity for innovation.

Working with communities

Working with communities to better understand their needs can be utilised as a powerful tool to inform design from an end user perspective. Where sustainability is concerned, working with communities to ensure new design features requiring adapted ways of living is necessary to ensure features such as heating, cooling, shading and ventilation systems work as intended.

Diversity in Design and Delivery

London is a diverse and multifaceted city, and the needs of its population are equally diverse. Innovation in the design and delivery of affordable and sustainable homes for Londoners should therefore draw on the diversity of the city’s population through collaboration with different cultures, races, genders, ages, classes etc.

London benefits from development opportunities that range in scale from the micro to the macro, with countless backland garages sites and infill sites to large scale regeneration sites and acres of underutilised industrial land across the city. Opportunities for innovation should be explored at all scales to help ensure rich and quality solutions that reflect the landscape of London as well as the varying scales of private, public and community organisations.

In the handful of examples where diversity has been a key feature of design and delivery, there have been successful innovations that demonstrate the need to embed to diversity more widely.

Opportunity in chaos

The best innovations provide solutions to complex problems. Having to navigate through factors such as low land values, economic and environmental crisis, deprivation, and many other issues forces us to think and do things differently. This chaos and crisis provides opportunity to push beyond the status quo and traditional practices to find innovative ways to deliver the good quality affordable and sustainable homes that Londoners need.