A Place Alliance report, with invaluable assistance received from Esther Kurland and Susan May of Urban Design London and Lynne Sullivan of the Good Homes Alliance. Thanks also to Civic Voice, the Town & Country Planning Association and Urban Design Group.

The research was presented by Professor Carmona at the “Design Now: what you need to know” event on the 7th of December 2020 as part of RTPI Online Events.

Here you can find the full recording of the event.

VIdeo recorded and produced by RTPI.

Main findings

Based on 2510 responses, the research concluded:

1 – Most are comfortable, but many are not

• Millions of uncomfortable people: Two thirds of people felt comfortable or very comfortable during lockdown, but a sixth were either uncomfortable or very uncomfortable. Extrapolated across the UK this would represent 10.7 million uncomfortable people.
• Houses are more comfortable than flats: Those living in houses (of any type) were more comfortable than those living in apartments, with those living in mid- (5-10 storey) or high-rise blocks (over 11 stories) being the least comfortable of all.
• The newest dwellings are the most uncomfortable: Dwellings were progressively less comfortable the newer they were, with the most recently built homes (built between 2010 and 2020) recording the lowest proportions of comfortable residents.
• Social renters suffered the most: Tenure was the strongest predictor of comfort in the home. Owner occupiers were the most comfortable, followed by those in the private rented sector. Those renting from local authorities or housing associations were the least comfortable by some margin.
• Key workers were least comfortable: Perversely, those working from home during lockdown were more comfortable than those working away from home (the so-called key workers). residents.

3 – Our neighbourhoods serve us well (most of us)

• A minority suffer poorly designed neighbourhoods: Almost three quarters of residents felt that their local neighbourhood met their everyday needs well or very well during lockdown, approaching a quarter that it was OK, and just 4% felt this was not the case. Extrapolated across the UK this would nevertheless represent a population of 2.7 million people.
• Urban is just as good: Comparing levels of satisfaction with neighbourhoods across rural, suburban and urban areas revealed very similar levels of satisfaction.
  High-rise comes out poorly: Neighbourhoods composing houses (whether detached, semi-detached or terraced) score markedly better than those with apartment blocks, particularly those with high rise blocks.
• Newer neighbourhoods come out worse: The data showed a progressive deterioration of the neighbourhood experience of lockdown in the most recently established neighbourhoods.
• Owner occupiers are happiest with their neighbourhoods: Again, owner occupiers scored their neighbourhoods most highly, followed by private renters. Those renting from housing associations and particularly from local authorities scored their neighbourhoods least well.
• Poor space at home and around: For residents with no or only limited access to private open space (e.g. a balcony), the wider neighbourhood was often failing to fill the gap left by their lack of access to open space at home.

5 – A variable sense of community (pre-COVID)

• Community feeling is typically rudimentary: Most respondents (two thirds) felt that a tangible but weak sense of community existed before lockdown. The remainder split between those for whom the feeling was either strong or weak, or in excess of 10 million people in each category if extrapolated across the UK.
• Rural is better for community: Rural areas seemed to exhibit a significantly stronger sense of community.
  Building higher means less community: Apartment blocks have a much weaker sense of community than houses and the sense of community reduces the higher blocks become.
• Older means more community and newer less: The older the housing stock, the stronger the sense of community.
• Churn reduces sense of community: The weakest sense of community – perhaps explained by the higher rates of churn in the sector – were occupiers in the privately rented sector, whilst owner occupiers report the strongest sense.

• All new homes and newly converted homes should have mandated access to private open space, even if just to a balcony.
• Without exception, all new and newly converted homes should be built to decent national minimum space standards such as those in the Nationally Described Space Standards and in a manner that prioritises good environmental conditions in the home: access to fresh air, daylight and good insulation against the transmission of noise.
• The Nationally Described Space Standards should be amended to reflect working from home needs, and all new and newly converted homes should be built with provision for occupiers to comfortably work from home.
• Greater care is required when building high. People in the survey were happier when closer to the ground suggesting that we should only build high if we can simultaneously deliver the other recommendations in this report, both at the home and neighbourhood scales.

• The higher and the denser we build, the greater the need for high quality parks and green spaces and local facilities within the neighbourhood.
• The aspiration should be for everyone to live within five minutes walk of a significant green space or park, and never more than 10 minutes.
• The aspiration should be for everyone to live within five minutes walk of a basic range of local facilities, including shops, and never more than 10 minutes.
• Homes, facilities, and green spaces should be linked by connected, walkable, and green streets and by high quality walking and cycling infrastructure with, wherever possible, low levels of traffic.