BSc Planning and Real Estate

Housing has always been and always will be important. The quality, quantity, and location of new housing are all crucial factors in the way we live our lives, the opportunities we enjoy, and the way we contribute to wider society. Although housing impacts on the physical context of a place, it also extends far beyond into the social, economic, cultural, and environmental spheres.  The ‘right’ to a decent home has long been at the heart of political debate in the UK and elsewhere. However, in the UK housing has long-been situated in the context of an enormously complex socio-political landscape in which it has been used regularly as a ‘political football’. In the middle of this political context are the built environment professions and policymakers who are charged with ‘building Britain’.  In Housing, Planning and Development we will critically explore the processes underpinning housing delivery and the impacts of policy and practice on the housing system in the UK, in particular in England, and elsewhere, while also teaching practical skills for planning, appraising and delivering housing through the development process.   

The unit aims to:

- examine the context for and processes of housing development in the UK
- examine the relationship between market processes, policy frameworks, and actor interests in housing development
- introduce students to the tools through which housing development is planned for, appraised, and delivered through the development process

18h lectures – synchronous in class
8h fieldtrip – visiting and assessing the potential housing development sites to be analysed for the individual report
4h workshops – first 2h workshop on desk-based site analyses, second 2h workshop on residual appraisal process
4h tutorials – to support the work on the two assignments by looking at past examples of assignments

Evaluate the factors that act on the housing development process  
Critically assess the drivers and constraints on housing development

Describe the concepts and functions of housing development, and the application of specific tools of analysis
Reflect on and critique the effects of different features of the housing development process

Apply analytical assessment skills to understand the process of housing development considering, opportunities and constraints of sites and policy frameworks…    
Communicate findings concisely through written means.
Use digital online mapping tools and other online data sources for desk-based site analyses

Reflect on the skills required for group working   
Present written reports in a professional format in line with requirements of the RTPI and RICS professional bodies  

Written feedback will be provided on the presentation within 15 working days from presentation

Indicative Reading List
Adams D. (1994) Urban Planning and the Development Process. London, UCL Press.
Adams, D. and Tiesdell, S. (2012) Shaping Places: Urban Planning, Design and Development, Routledge, Abingdon. 
Adams, D. and Watkins, C. (2002) Greenfields, Brownfields and Housing Development. London, Blackwell Publishing.
Balchin, P. and Rhoden, M. (2002) Housing Policy: An Introduction (4th edn). Oxon, Routledge. 
Bramley, G., Munro, M. and Pawson, H. (2004) Key Issues in Housing: Policies and Markets in 21st Century Britain. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Carmona, M, Carmona, S. and Gallent, N. (2003) Delivering New Homes: Processes, Planners and Providers. London, Routledge.
Gallent, N. and Tewdwr-Jones, M. (2007) Decent Homes for All: Reviewing Planning’s Role in Housing Provision. London, Routledge.
Golland, A. and Blake, R. (Eds) (2004) Housing Development: Theory, Process and Practice. London, Routledge.
Guy S. and Henneberry J. (2002) (eds) Development and Developers: Perspectives on Property. Oxford, Blackwell.
Jones, C. and Watkins, C. (2009) Housing Markets and Planning Policy. Chichester, Blackwell.
Malpass, P. and Murie, A. (1999) Housing Policy and Practice (5th edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
National Audit Office (2017) Housing in England: overview. London, National Audit Office. https://www.nao.org.uk/report/housing-in-england-overview/
Syms P. (2002) Land, Development and Design, Oxford, Blackwell.
Town Planning Review Special Issue: Planning and Housing (2013) 84 (1).
Wilson, W. (2014) Stimulating housing supply – Government initiatives (England). London, House of Commons Library 
(http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/briefing-papers/SN06416/stimulating-housing-supply-government-initiatives)