Overview

Born of idealism, and once an icon of the Labour movement and pillar of the Welfare State, council housing is now nearing its end. But do its many failings outweigh its positive contributions to public health and wellbeing? Alison Ravetz here provides the first comprehensive and apolitical history from which to arrive at a balanced judgement. Drawing on the widest possible evidence, from tenant and government records to the built environment itself, she tells the story of British council housing, from its seeds in Victorian reactions to 'the Poor', in philanthropy and model villages, Christian and other varieties of socialism. Her depiction of council housing in its mature years shows the often bizarre persistence of 'utopian' attitudes (whether in architectural design or management styles); its rise to a monopoly position in working-class family housing; the many compromises consequent on its state finance and local authority control; and the impact on working-class lives as an intellectuals' 'utopian dream' was converted into a social policy for the masses. The outcomes of this social experiment, whether for individuals or society, are at least debatable. Council housing may be obsolescent but the story revealed here highlights many unresolved issues of continuing importance today. What, in any give period, constitutes poverty and how should society treat its poor? How best, if at all can the culture of poverty be reformed by the state? Is the old Welfare State approach redundant or might it yet be relevant? Whatever the answers found, the British council housing experiment is not to be simply written off as a tragic mistake - by a strange quirk of fortune, its retrieval now gives rise to daring strategies for regeneration that could become templates of a new and more responsive democracy in future years.

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9780415239462

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Reviews

Ravetz is withering about the brutal paradox that, in current ideology of both major parties, a body of people, the tenants, throughout their entire history cast in a passive role, were suddenly expected to respond actively to the many opportunites to join in partnerships ...As to the record of the architects, the author shows convincingly that the most successful strand in housing design was that begun by Raymond Unwin at Letchworth, and sanctified in council practice after the First World War thanks to the Tudor Walters report; while after the Second World War, since the preferences of tenants were the last thing anyone sought, every kind of self-indulgent architectural fantasy and enthusiasm led to disappointment all round. <br>-Colin Ward, The Architect's Journal, 9/6/2001 <br> The cover of this salutary book is decorated with tiny reproductions of Peter Sherpeard's drawings from 50 years ago, of the houses he designed for Lansbury in east London as part of the LiveArchitecture exhibition for the Festival of Britain. <br>-Colin Ward, The Architect's Journal, 9/6/2001 <br>... but until this book by Alison Ravetz it has not been the subect of a dedicated study...Ravetz approaches the topic with a mix of careful analysis and underlying compassion...This is a thoughtful and well-written account of a clearly focused subject that also stimulates wider social questions. <br>-Dennis Hardy, Middlesex University, Built Environment, Vol. 27 No. 4 <br>

'The arguments here are thought-provoking and the story is well-written. This should be worthwhile reading to anyone interested in the past or the future not only of council housing but also of housing associations.' - John Doling, Local Government Studies'Its most stimulating aspect is the comprehensive approach to the subject and the avoidance of the simplistic explanations so frequently used when dealing with it. Alison Ravetz has not only researched widely, she has also tried to connect the various strands of this complicated and often depressing story. A book that should be compulsory reading for anyone concerned with reducing social inequalities.' - THES, 6 September, 2002

'The arguments here are thought-provoking and the story is well-written. This should be worthwhile reading to anyone interested in the past or the future not only of council housing but also of housing associations.' - John Doling, Local Government Studies 'Its most stimulating aspect is the comprehensive approach to the subject and the avoidance of the simplistic explanations so frequently used when dealing with it. Alison Ravetz has not only researched widely, she has also tried to connect the various strands of this complicated and often depressing story. A book that should be compulsory reading for anyone concerned with reducing social inequalities.' - THES, 6 September, 2002

Author Information

Alison Ravetz is Professor Emeritus of Leeds Metropolitan University, and has written extensively for more than 25 years on the history of housing, cities and planning.

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