Introduction

This chapter explores the journey of the Future Homes Alliance (FHA), a community interest company in Newcastle, built from a cross-sectoral partnership of university, local authority, industry and third sector groups that developed innovative housing models to respond to social renewal and social justice. From a conversation in 2016, there is now a development proposal that has been submitted to Newcastle City Council for planning approval. The chapter explores three issues:

• • How can we draw more unheard voices into housing design?

• • How should housing respond to the challenges of ageing and social sustainability?

• • How do we build continuous learning loops that allow for organisational growth and project replication?

It concludes by considering what deeper lessons can be drawn from the FHA that can be more widely applied.

The housing policy context

Although the UK discourse is dominated by tenure, in the context of an ageing population, what is most important is the quality of the home and design that is ‘future-proofed’ to meet individual life changes (Habinteg, 2019). Design specifications with greater inclusivity have been established in a variety of developed countries (Habinteg, 2016; CMHC, 2017; Lifemark, 2019; Livable Housing Australia, 2019). These homes are often aimed at people across the life course but designed to be inclusive of people with disabilities and ‘future-proofed’ for easier adaptation as the needs of occupants change. Adaptability is highly correlated with space standards but these have fallen in the UK as central government has shifted the emphasis from mandatory to discretionary standards. The 1961 report of the UK Ministry of Housing and Local Government (1961), Homes for Today and Tomorrow (known as the Parker Morris Report), reflected a high point in thinking, with additional floor space given the highest priority as a long-term investment in the dwelling and the family. These standards were mandatory for social housing but, in practice, their influence extended into the private sector as developers recognised that aspiring families were demanding more from their dwellings. Parker Morris standards were abandoned in the 1980s, leaving the UK, at the time, as the only country in Western Europe with no minimum space standards for housing (Park, 2017).

Current UK government guidance (DCLG, 2015) has introduced optional and discretionary cross-tenure technical standards to address mobility changes.