The Role of Town Planning in Solving the Housing Crisis

Orthodox economic analysis has for decades blamed the planning system for a lack of supply of housing. In that time, the reputation of democratic planning has collapsed with rounds of deregulation, which, at their worst, are leading to a new generation of slum housing. This article pushes back against the anti-planning orthodoxy, arguing that it is the behaviour of highly speculative private sector house builders and the lack of public sector delivery that have led us to our current crisis.