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Municipal Dreams

The Rise and Fall of Council Housing

By (author) John Boughton
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Verso Books, London, United Kingdom
Published: 17th Apr 2018
Dimensions: w 155mm h 217mm d 38mm
Weight: 525g
ISBN-10: 1784787396
ISBN-13: 9781784787394
Barcode No: 9781784787394
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Synopsis
Municipal Dreams presents an alternative history of the United Kingdom. This history begins in the slum clearances of the late nineteenth century and the aspirations of those who would build anew. John Boughton looks at how and why the state's duty to house its people decently became central to our politics. Traversing the nation, Boughton offers an architectural tour of some of the best and most remarkable of our housing estates, as well as many accounted ordinary; he asks us to understand better their complex story and to rethink our prejudices. His accounts include extraordinary planners and architects who wished to elevate working men and women through design and the politicians, high and low, who shaped their work, the competing ideologies which have promoted state housing and condemned it, the economics which has always constrained our housing ideals, the crisis wrought by Right to Buy, and the evolving controversies around regeneration. He shows how the loss of the dream of good housing for all is a danger for the whole of society - as was seen in the fire in Grenfell Tower.

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Boughton traces this history well. A fine survey of an astonishing achievement. -- Ed Heathcote * Financial Times * This serious, heartfelt book makes a convincing case that publicly provided homes have to be at least part of the response to the dysfunctional state that British housing has now attained. -- Rowan Moore * Observer * Illuminates one of the biggest issues of contemporary Britain, the inadequacies of its housing supply. -- Rowan Moore * Observer, Best Books of 2018 * For the past few years his writing has been an elegant and compendious ongoing exploration of Britain's social history through its council estates. The book celebrates an era during which dreams of shelter and security for all-not just those who could afford to purchase it-were in large part made a reality, and asks us if we oughtn't to consider reviving that dream before it gets destroyed completely . There couldn't be a better time for this book. -- Lynsey Hanley * Guardian * Detailed history of social housing in the UK. -- Hugh Pearman * Spectator * Part celebration of housing achievements, part lament for what we have lost, part rallying cry for getting it back, tells a history that too many have forgotten. -- Jules Birch * Inside Housing, Books of the Year * Required reading . provides a comprehensive history of Britain's council estates [that] challenges the well-worn narrative. -- Anna Minton * Prospect * Follows the epic story of British council and social housing, from its Victorian origins to Twentieth Century estates, the right to buy and the Grenfell fire. While every page is rich with fascinating detail, Boughton also tells the grand narrative of how modern housing was created for millions, and how that dream has been cynically and carelessly undermined. This is an inspiring read and a necessary corrective to the myths that seek to destroy one of the most important struggles of our times - the drive for decent housing for all. -- John Grinrod, author of <i>Outskirts</i> It will become a standard tome for students, academics and practitioners...It should be required reading for Jeremy Corbyn, John Healey and whoever is the Conservative Housing Minister this week. * Inside Housing * This is a hugely timely book, making the case for decent social housing through a detailed and fair-minded history. Everyone should read it. -- Dr Barnabas Calder, author of <i>Raw Concrete </i> This book is crucial for understanding the state of housing in Britain. Through an impassioned and detailed description of how council housing was created, transformed, and ultimately undermined, Boughton explains the origins of the current crisis. Municipal Dreams proves that an alternative housing system is not only possible, but was once the goal of policymakers, architects, and citizens across the UK-and could be so again. -- David Madden, author of <i>In Defense of Housing</i> Boughton's forensic history of public housing effectively sets the scene for the Grenfell disaster. * Camden New Journal *