How do we solve the housing crisis? The government’s headline answer is that we need to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years – and that we need to build on areas of “green belt” land to do so. But in a world where the construction industry is responsible for a huge proportion of our carbon emissions, waste and biodiversity loss, it’s reasonable to ask how this ambition is compatible with addressing the multiple intersecting environmental emergencies we’re facing.

In this seminar, we’ll look again at the problems underlying the housing crisis, asking whether these problems can be addressed effectively without doing excessive damage to our environment. We’ll consider innovative solutions – ranging from policy, to planning, to community action – that may or may not involve building more and faster, but which recognise the complexity of the situation and the care needed to address it responsibly.

Speakers:

Dr Abi O'Connor: Researcher, New Economics Foundation, and Research Fellow, University of Liverpool
Darryl Chen: Urban Design Lead, Hawkins Brown
Tim Crabtree: Director, Wessex Community Assets
Professor Rebecca Tunstall: Professor Emerita of Housing Policy, University of York

This event is being co-hosted and chaired by the Oxfordshire Community Land Trust.

This event will take place at 5:30pm on Wed 30th April 2025 at Kellogg College.